NORTHERN IRELAND

Entry Clearances

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on security and the common travel area since May 2010.

Hugo Swire: Neither the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), nor I have had such discussions with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive. We maintain close contacts on these issues with other UK authorities. I met the Minister for Immigration, my hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green), in March to discuss the common travel area and NIO officials remain in close contact with their counterparts in the UKBA and Home Office, and we will be alert to any aspects of these issues that affect the Executive's responsibilities.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Departmental Consultants

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what procedures her Department uses when engaging external consultants.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government Equalities Office is now part of the Home Office. The information requested will be provided by the Minister for Immigration, the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green).

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how much the Government Equalities Office spent on new furnishings in the last year.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government Equalities Office is now part of the Home Office. The information requested will be provided by the Minister for Immigration, the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green).

TRANSPORT

Airports: Security

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of his letter to the European institutions regarding the searching of religious headgear at airports.

Theresa Villiers: I will place in the Library a copy of the letter I sent to my European Union counterparts and the European Commission explaining the UK approach to the screening of religious headgear.

Blue Badge Scheme

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate has been made of the number of blue badges in circulation.

Norman Baker: The number of blue badges in circulation in England at 31 March 2010 was estimated at 2.55 million.

Bus Services

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to allowing delegated driving examiners to provide tests for multiple bus companies where there is no conflict of interest.

Michael Penning: The appointment of 'delegated driving examiners' is provided for in legislation. This requires the company appointing the examiner to be approved by the Secretary of State and provides for the Secretary of State to impose conditions on that approval.
	Under the approvals given to bus companies allowance can be made for testing of candidates employed or potentially employed by those companies or 'sister companies' i.e. another company within the same holding company. These companies have a vested interest in ensuring tests conducted are of a high quality. There is no provision for multiple companies to be approved and no such change has been proposed.

Bus Services

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the costs incurred by municipal bus companies as a result of being restricted to borrowing only from local authorities;
	(2)  what consideration he has give to bringing forward legislative proposals to amend the Transport Act 1985 to allow municipal bus companies to borrow on the open market; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: Bus companies have been restricted to borrowing only from local authorities since 1986, following deregulation and privatisation of bus operators in Great Britain outside London. I currently have no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Transport Act 1985 to allow municipal bus companies to borrow on the open market. I have therefore made no estimate of any costs incurred by municipal bus companies as a result of being restricted to borrowing only from their controlling local authorities.

Coastguard Agency: Liverpool

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the proposal by staff at Liverpool Maritime and Coastguard Agency to create a Maritime Operations Centre at Liverpool.

Michael Penning: No assessment has been made of the proposal referred to above.
	On 14 July the Government set out revised proposals for the modernisation of Her Majesty's Coastguard. These provide for a single Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) to be located in the Southampton/Portsmouth area. The first consultation sought views about the proposal to base the MOC in the Southampton/Portsmouth area. The responses were used to inform the decision which was included as a settled matter in the revised proposal. Accordingly, the second consultation did not invite alternative proposals about the location of the MOC.

Great Western Railway Line

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to electrify the Great Western Main Line between London and Swansea.

Theresa Villiers: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has confirmed funding for the electrification of the Great Western Main Line between London and Cardiff.
	The Government currently have no plans for further electrification between Cardiff and Swansea because we believe that all the benefits that would result from electrification to Swansea can be delivered using a combination of electrification to Cardiff and deployment of new IEP bi-mode trains, switching seamlessly from electric to diesel traction at Cardiff.
	We expect new electric and bi-mode train fleet to be deployed on the Great Western by 2017. This will increase capacity and cut journey times between Swansea and London by 20 minutes. The new trains will thus give passengers the same benefits as a fully electric fleet.

Motorways: Speed Limits

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 July 2011, Official Report, column 959W, on motorways: speed limits, whether his Department plans to review default speed limits on classes of road other than motorways.

Michael Penning: The Department's review of default speed limits is focused on the national motorway speed limit. It is not actively reviewing the national 30 mph speed limit for built up (lit) roads, the 60 mph limit for non-built up single carriageway roads or the 70 mph limit for non-built up dual carriageway all purpose roads.
	In the course of considering the national motorway speed limit, the case for parallel changes on sections of high standard dual carriageway all purpose trunk roads is being considered.
	A consultation on these issues will be published in due course.

Railways: Fares

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the decision to allow the inflation linked cap on rail fares to rise from RPI plus 1 per cent. to RPI plus 3 per cent. from January 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The pressing need to tackle the deficit has forced the Government to take difficult decisions on fares. The average cap on regulated rail fares will increase by retail prices index (RPI)+3% for three years from 2012 in order to protect planned rail investment.
	Sir Roy McNulty recently completed an extensive review on value for money on the UK's railways. He made a number of recommendations which he believes could deliver major cost savings and we will be considering these in depth. Our aim is to deliver savings benefiting both taxpayers and passengers.

Railways: Heathrow Airport

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with Network Rail regarding a railway transport hub at Heathrow airport;
	(2)  when he plans to make an announcement of the outcomes of discussions on a transport connection between Heathrow airport, the proposed High Speed Rail 2 and the Great Western Mainline;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effects on the economy of an improved rail connection between south Wales and Heathrow airport;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the change in average travel time between south Wales and Heathrow airport which would result from a railway transport hub at Heathrow airport;
	(5)  what discussions he has had with the owners of Cardiff airport about the likely effects of a railway transport hub at Heathrow airport;
	(6)  what recent estimate he has made of the cost of creating a railway transport hub at Heathrow airport.

Theresa Villiers: Following publication by Network Rail of its London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy in July 2011, the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and officials from the Department for Transport have, separately, had discussions with Network Rail and BAA regarding taking forward the recommendations in the strategy for improvements in rail access to Heathrow airport. Network Rail is now progressing further work to determine in more detail the case for a rail connection from the Great Western Main Line to Heathrow airport including an assessment of costs and the economic benefits arising from the effect on travel times. No wider stakeholder consultation has yet been undertaken. The Department for Transport expects to make a further announcement in due course.

Rescue Services

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what responses he has received to his Department's consultation on the future of the coastguard; and what assessment he has made of those submissions.

Michael Penning: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) received just under 780 formal responses, together with a number of petitions and campaign letters on specific issues. The independent review team that was formed to review the proposals associated with the first consultation has reconvened and are categorising the responses to the second consultation.
	An analysis report will be prepared as soon as possible, on the basis of which the MCA will put forward recommendations for consideration by Ministers.
	As with the first consultation all of these responses will be published as soon as possible.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the note of each meeting held by (a) the Secretary of State and (b) Ministers of State on (i) Thameslink and (ii) train rolling stock where Thameslink was discussed between the date of his appointment and 16 June 2011;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of each (a) internal meeting with his Department and (b) meeting between his Department and other departments in respect of the Thameslink rolling stock contract in (i) May, (ii) June and (iii) July 2011;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library a copy of each risk assessment or risk register held by his Department which contains assessments of the risk associated with the assessment and award of the Thameslink Rolling Stock Project contract;
	(4)  if he will place in the Library a copy of each risk assessment or risk register held by his Department which contains assessments of the risk associated with the implementation of the Thameslink Programme.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 15 September 2011
	Details of bids for the Thameslink Rolling Stock Project are confidential to Siemens, Bombardier and the Department. To release this information could compromise their and the Department's commercial positions.

WALES

Private Sector Job Creation

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues and others on job creation in the private sector in Wales.

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues and others on job creation in the private sector in Wales.

Cheryl Gillan: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues and other interested parties on ways in which we can stimulate job creation in the private sector in Wales.
	We must create the environment where the private sector is able to grow and to prosper, in order for businesses to create much needed jobs in Wales and we will continue to work with the Welsh Government to achieve that aim.

Higher Education

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with (a) her ministerial colleagues and (b) university vice-chancellors on cross-border issues in higher education.

David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), and I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a range of issues including higher education.
	While higher education is devolved in Wales, my right hon. Friend and I take a close interest in this area and we are in the process of meeting with the vice chancellors of Wales' universities to hear their views on this and other matters.

Pensioner Poverty

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent assessment she has made of the extent of pensioner poverty in Wales; and if she will make a statement.

David Jones: The Government are determined that all pensioners in Wales and throughout the UK should have a decent and secure income in retirement.

Swansea Coastguard Station

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the future of Swansea coastguard station.

David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), has regular meetings with ministerial colleagues on a range of issues that affect Wales including the proposals to modernise the coastguard service.
	As hon. Members will be aware, the consultation on the Government's revised proposals ended last week (6 October), and the Department for Transport are currently examining the responses.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Pre-Departure Accommodation Centre

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who she expects to undertake the independent inspection of pre-departure accommodation centre for families and children detained for immigration purposes at Pease Pottage opened on 5 September 2011.

Damian Green: Cedars, the pre-departure accommodation for families with children at Pease Pottage, which I opened on 17 August, fulfils the Government's commitment to end the detention of children. It will be subject to independent inspection by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, who already has statutory responsibility for the UK Border Agency's short-term holding facilities as well as its immigration removal centres. An Independent Monitoring Board will also be appointed for the facility and the Children's Commissioner for England will have statutory right of access.

Anti-Slavery Day

Claire Perry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans her Department has to mark Anti-Slavery day 2011.

Damian Green: The Government are planning to mark Anti-Slavery day 2011 by supporting a range of events, including the launch of a training and referral process for the airline industry with a major UK airline.

Asylum

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much section 4 asylum support was granted in the 12 months to 1 September 2011.

Damian Green: Expenditure on Section 4 asylum support incurred by UK Border Agency in the 12 months to 1 September 2011 was £38.2 million. This figure has been taken from the financial records of the UK Border Agency and is unaudited and subject to possible future amendment and revision.

Asylum

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum were granted in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.

Damian Green: The number of asylum applications that were granted in the UK in 2009 and 2010 were 4,188 and 3,488 respectively. A further 2,554 in 2009 and 1,707 in 2010 were also granted discretionary leave and humanitarian protection.
	Further information on asylum is available from the Immigration Statistics release available in the Library of the House and the Home Office Science website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Departmental Consultants

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures her Department uses when engaging external consultants.

Damian Green: The Home Department has a robust governance process in place to ensure that control is applied to all requests to appoint external consultants for both new engagements and extensions to existing arrangements.
	The Department's approvals procedure is implemented through the Departmental Consultancy and Contingent Labour Approvals Board, chaired by the Director General of Financial and Commercial Group. The Board thoroughly scrutinises each business case for the engagement of external consultants and decides whether to approve the request or not, on the strengths of each case.
	All new consulting engagements with an anticipated value greater than £20,000 requires the approval of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May).
	Our procedures comply with the Cabinet Office requirement to submit the following three types of request to the Efficiency and Reform Group:
	Where consulting engagements are expected to go beyond nine months;
	Where the engagement is for procurement services and will cost £20,000 or more and;
	To prolong an existing engagement beyond nine months.
	Approved consulting engagements are competitively tendered through an appropriate Government Procurement Service framework or, in exceptional circumstances, through an open competition advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Departmental Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress her Department has made in eliminating pre-qualification questionnaires for procurements with a value of under £100,000.

Damian Green: The Home Department has made good progress and has eliminated the use of pre-qualification questionnaires for procurements with a value of under £100,000.

Domestic Violence

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has received on the removal of protection under the Immigration Rules for victims of domestic violence with unspent criminal convictions.

Damian Green: We received comments from 48 corporate partners on the criminality requirement for settlement guidance. We will be making minor alterations to our guidance in response to some of the suggestions from corporate partners.
	The Government do not accept that the requirement to have no unspent convictions for settlement applications is incompatible with the commitment given to provide protection to victims of domestic violence. Where an applicant does have an unspent conviction and the offence is minor and where there are compelling and compassionate circumstances and the offence is related to the domestic violence, the UK Border Agency has discretion to disregard it and grant settlement outside the rules or grant temporary leave, including with access to benefits, if that is more appropriate.

Domestic Violence

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the objectives are for the domestic abuse, stalking and honour-based violence risk identification training for police forces;
	(2)  what potential benefits she has identified for the participation of criminal justice professionals in the domestic abuse, stalking and honour-based violence risk identification training courses.

Lynne Featherstone: The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) accredited the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour Based Violence (DASH) Risk Identification, Assessment and Management Model to be implemented across all police services in the UK from March 2009. Although we understand that the majority of forces currently use DASH it is for individual forces and organisations to decide which risk assessment models to use, what training their officers and staff receive, and the specific objectives and benefits of such training.

Entry Clearances

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals relating to visa applications under the asylum category have been (a) upheld and (b) refused in the last 12 months.

Damian Green: It has been assumed that the request is for figures on determinations of appeals on applications for asylum. In the last 12 months for which data are available (July 2010 to June 2011), there were 12,503 asylum appeals determined at the First-tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
	Of these 12,503 appeal determinations, 3,364 appeals were allowed (upheld) and 8,474 appeals were dismissed (refused). The remaining 665 appeals were withdrawn.
	These data were published in Table as.14.q of Immigration Statistics: April to June 2011. Further information on asylum is available from the immigration Statistics releases available in the Library of the House and the Home Office Science website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Entry Clearances

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals for visa applications in the Family Migrant category have (a) been upheld and (b) failed in the last 12 months.

Damian Green: The number of appeals against visa applications allowed and dismissed for the settlement category in the year ending June 2011 (the latest date for which figures are available) were 6,610 allowed and 5,440 dismissed. The number of appeals against visa applications allowed and dismissed for the family visit category for the year ending June 2011 (the latest date for which figures are available) were 16,961 allowed and 18,421 dismissed.

Finance

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to promote the use of participatory budgeting in future resource allocation decisions for which her Department is responsible.

Nick Herbert: Local engagement is particularly important in crime and policing and it is up to the relevant authorities in a local area to determine how to allocate resources, including whether to adopt participatory budgeting. Through the introduction of elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), the Home Office is strengthening local accountability over how resources are used to tackle crime reduction and policing. PCCs will determine local policing priorities, publish a five-year police and crime plan, set a local precept and set the annual force budget in discussion with chief constables. PCCs will be required to seek the views of local people before deciding how resources are allocated.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when she plans to reply to the letter of 3 June 2011 from the hon. Member for Walsall North regarding constituents, ref: M10597;
	(2)  further to the interim reply of 7 July 2011, ref M10597, when she plans to provide a substantive reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 3 June 2011.

Nick Herbert: A reply was sent on 18 July 2011.

Police: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on the average number of years in employment for a police constable in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England.

Nick Herbert: Information on the average number of years in employment for a police constable is not collected centrally. The Home Office collects figures for the number of currently serving officers, broken down by rank and length of service. However, length of service is grouped by size-bands, some of which span five years (eg 10 years to 15 years length of service), therefore any calculation of current average length of service would be an approximation.

Police: Email

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department provides to police forces on provision of contact email addresses for chief constables.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 8 September 2011
	The Home Office does not issue any guidance to police forces on the provision of contact e-mail addresses for chief constables.

Police: Termination of Employment

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2011, Official Report, column 1009W, on police: termination of employment, what action a police officer leaving a police force can take if a police force refuses to issue them with a certificate showing (a) final rank and (b) period of service.

Nick Herbert: Failure to provide a person who ceases to be a member of a police force with a certificate showing his rank and period of service would be a breach of the Police Regulations. The regulations do not prescribe any sanction for a breach of this kind, but any unlawful act by a public authority is potentially susceptible to challenge by way of judicial review.

Primates

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of recommendation 14 of the Review of research using non-human primates chaired by Professor Sir Patrick Bateson FRS; when she proposes that new advice will be given to research workers on the destruction of records; and how such advice would be communicated.

Lynne Featherstone: Recommendation 14 of the Review of research using non-human primates chaired by Professor Sir Patrick Bateson FRS stated that the Home Office should reconsider their advice to research workers to destroy records after five years.
	The recommendation appears to be based on a misunderstanding as the Home Office does not give any such advice. For the avoidance of doubt, we require researchers and establishments to keep records for at least five years; when those records are destroyed after that is a matter for decision locally.
	This has been communicated to researchers in a certificate holders circular and an e-newsletter.

Sojourner Project

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received from women's groups on the Sojourner Project.

Damian Green: No specific representations have recently been received from women's groups regarding the Sojourner Project by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May).
	Discussions have taken place between UK Border Agency officials and women's organisations on the long-term replacement of the Sojourner Project which is scheduled to be introduced in April 2012.

UK Border Agency: Armed Forces

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the accessibility and clarity of UK Border Agency guidance for Commonwealth military personnel and foreign national families of military personnel moving to the UK.

Damian Green: Those Foreign and Commonwealth nationals serving with the armed forces are considered exempt from immigration control throughout their service. The actions required relating to the immigration status of their families coming to live in the United Kingdom are clearly set out in the immigration rules and in guidance on the UK Border Agency website.
	The UK Border Agency works closely with the Ministry of Defence to ensure guidance and briefing notes issued by both Departments are amended when necessary and easily available to all service personnel.

UK Border Agency: Translation Services

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the UK Border Agency spent on translation services in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency (UKBA) employs freelance interpreters to provide translation services when interviewing asylum seekers whose English is insufficient for the interview to be conducted in that language.
	Expenditure on interpreters incurred by UK Border Agency in the last five years has been as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2010-11 5,105,153 
			 2009-10 6,020,104 
			 2008-09 6,828,442 
			 2007-08 6,437,698 
			 2006-07 2,586,375

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on recruitment advertising for the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and Royal Marines and (c) Royal Air Force since May 2010.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 9 September 2011
	It is a key requirement for each of the armed forces to maintain a satisfactory balance of skills, experience, ability and seniority in rank to enable delivery of operational requirements. Despite the reduction in overall numbers of service personnel, and the associated need for a redundancy programme, the armed forces must still recruit and train personnel to replace those who leave the services at the end of their current engagements. In order to maintain that balance each service continues to recruit where personnel are required, including those trades/branches which are historically difficult to fill due to the requirement of specialist qualifications or experience.
	The Ministry of Defence has spent £5.19 million for the Army, £2.20 million for the Royal Navy, and £1.85 million for the Royal Air Force on recruitment advertising since May 2010. These figures include current television advertising and short notice opportunity low value advertising in magazines in newspapers.

EU Defence Policy

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which European Defence Agency projects the UK is taking part.

Gerald Howarth: The only European Defence Agency (EDA) project to which we have a specific financial commitment, in addition to our annual membership fees, is the helicopter training project. However, as part of our membership we are also involved in several EDA initiatives. Our contribution to these initiatives takes a variety of forms including equipment and systems testing and the sharing of knowledge, expertise and experience.

EU Defence Policy: Offices

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role Permanent Structural Cooperation will have in the creation of an EU Permanent Operational Headquarters.

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role Permanent Structured Cooperation will have in the creation of an EU Permanent Operational Headquarters; and whether the UK will have a veto.

Gerald Howarth: NATO remains the cornerstone of UK defence. We see no justification for a permanent EU military Operational Headquarters (OHQ) and would oppose it, whether there is an attempt to create it by Permanent Structural Cooperation (PESCO) or other means. We have been clear that establishment of a permanent OHQ would be a duplication of existing capability provided by NATO, would permanently disassociate the EU from NATO and would be an unnecessary use of resources.
	Under the Lisbon treaty, signed by the previous Government, PESCO could be established by qualified majority voting in the European Council following notification from member states wishing to participate in it. However, all decisions made within PESCO are made by unanimity. Therefore, individual member states do not have the ability to veto the establishment of PESCO, but those who participate would have the right to veto any decisions made within it. Regardless of whether PESCO were to be established, the UK retains the ability to veto the launch of any EU operation.

HEALTH

Health and Social Care Bill 2010-12

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Health and Social Care Bill to require joint working between health and education services in respect of children.

Anne Milton: The Health and Social Care Bill establishes health and well-being boards, to join up commissioning across the national health service, public health, adult social care and other services, such as education, that the local health and well-being board agrees will contribute to health and well-being.
	There is broad support for our proposals for health and well-being boards, which will include Directors of Children's Services as core members, as well as Clinical Commissioning Groups. The boards will have an interest in encouraging the involvement of schools and colleges. Schools will want a voice in the provision of health services for children and young people. These arrangements will be determined locally, in a way that is proportionate and appropriate, both to the capacity of local schools and wider local arrangements to promote children's well-being under the Children's Act 2004.

Health Professions: Qualifications

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the European Commission's review of the Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive 2005/36/EC, with regard to (a) midwives and (b) other health care professionals.

Anne Milton: The Government's position on the European Commission's Green Paper on Modernising the Professional Qualifications Directive, is set out in the UK Government response to the Commission's consultation which was issued by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on 20 September 2011. A copy of the Government response is available on the BIS website at:
	www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/europe/docs/e/11-1297-ec-green-paper-professional-qualifications-directive-uk-response
	We will give consideration in due course to any specific legislative proposals put forward by the European Commission, which impact on midwives and/or other health professions and we will engage with the relevant health professions regulatory bodies on these proposals.

Health Services: Overseas Visitors

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2011, Official Report, column 1179W, on health services: overseas visitors (a) how much was owed to the NHS in unpaid bills incurred by foreign nationals and (b) what the sum was of NHS bills incurred by foreign nationals in each year between 1997 and 2011 by primary care trust.

Anne Milton: The sum of national health service bills incurred by overseas visitors is made up of: income received; total losses, bad debt and claims abandoned; and income which is still in the process of being recovered (not all figures will fall in the same year in which charges incurred).
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 19 January 2011, Official Report, column 850W, which gave total audited income from overseas patients under non-reciprocal arrangements as well as total losses, bad debt and claims abandoned for overseas visitors for years for which figures are available for England. The Department does not have these data attributable to primary care trust areas.
	The Department has not made an estimate of the total amount of monies owed by overseas visitors that the NHS is in the process of recovering.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 September 2011, Official Report, columns 1263-4W, on health services: reciprocal arrangements, what steps he is taking to ensure the timely recovery of outstanding payments; and what the level of outstanding payments is from the UK to each country listed.

Anne Milton: European Union regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009, which entered into force on 1 May 2010, introduce new deadlines for the payment of claims between member states, which means that a member state must pay an undisputed claim within 18 months of receipt of the claim. If the claim is not paid within the deadlines as set out in the regulations, then the creditor member state can charge interest on the claim.
	The following table shows the outstanding amounts, as at 10 October 2011, to be paid by the United Kingdom to each member state of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, for actual cost claims submitted up to and including the financial year 2010-11. The amounts relate to combined claims for temporary visitors (via European Health Insurance Cards), workers temporarily posted abroad by their employer and referrals for treatment in other EEA countries. Due to the nature of the claims system between member states, it is not currently possible to disaggregate the data consistently for all member states by either type of claim or type of treatment.
	
		
			  £ 
			 Austria 1,731,000 
			 Belgium 8,515,000 
			 Bulgaria 17,000 
			 Cyprus 1,499,000 
			 Czech Republic 544,000 
			 Finland 8,000 
			 France -643,000 
			 Germany 4,658,000 
			 Greece 273,000 
			 Hungary 0 
			 Iceland 53,000 
			 Ireland 44,305,000 
			 Italy 2,516,000 
			 Latvia 0 
			 Liechtenstein 0 
			 Lithuania 2,000 
			 Luxembourg 263,000 
			 Netherlands 0 
			 Norway 0 
			 Poland -14,000 
			 Portugal 0 
			 Romania 1,000 
			 Slovakia 268,000 
			 Slovenia 99,000 
			 Spain 0 
			 Sweden 342,000 
			 Switzerland 1,104,000 
			 Total 65,500,000 
			 Notes: 1. Country totals are rounded to the nearest 1,000. Overall totals are rounded to the nearest 100,000. Sub-totals may not add up to totals due to rounding. 2. Equivalent totals based on latest EU quarterly exchange rates for conversion of currencies 3. Denmark—Full waiver 4. Estonia and Norway—Waiver, excepting Article 22.1c (patient referral) and Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims. 5. Finland, Hungary and Malta—Waiver, excepting Article 22.1c (patient referral) claims. 6. Netherlands—Netherlands claim amounts are determined and settled on an annual basis in arrears. There are no outstanding amounts for claims determined in 2010-11 and in prior years. 7. The position shown relates to the position for claims submitted up to and including the financial year 2010-11 as at 30 September 2011. Outstanding amounts are subject to constant change as part of the normal process of claims verification and settlement. 8. Negative amounts relate to the withdrawal or rejection of elements of claims subsequent to a payment.

Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether a requirement will be placed on the franchise holder for Hinchingbrooke NHS Trust to reduce the trust's legacy debt; and whether it will be permitted to (a) sell any of the trust's assets, (b) discontinue services and (c) build new facilities on the trust site for use by private patients;
	(2)  whether staff employed at Hinchingbrooke NHS Trust will become employees of the franchise holder under the terms of the franchise; and whether they will retain their existing terms and conditions of employment;
	(3)  what plans he has for the future of the debt held by Hinchingbrooke NHS Trust;
	(4)  on what basis the clinical and financial performance of Hinchingbrooke NHS Trust will be assessed under its operating franchise; and what benchmarks he plans to set to assess the performance of the franchise;
	(5)  whether the board of Hinchingbrooke NHS Trust will continue to meet in public and publish agendas and minutes of its meetings under the terms of its operating franchise;
	(6)  if he will publish the contract with Circle Heath for the franchise of Hinchingbrooke NHS Trust.

Simon Burns: Based on advice from the NHS East of England strategic health authority, we can confirm the following:
	The Hinchingbrooke Next Steps project was devised to establish a solution to Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust's historic debt and secure its long term sustainability. The trust's board recognised that it was unlikely to reach foundation trust status as a standalone organisation or pay back its debt to the taxpayer so, after a public consultation in 2007, a procurement took place to find a suitable partner, using a unique franchise arrangement. On 25 November 2010, following considerable stakeholder engagement, Circle was announced as the recommended bidder to take on the management of Hinchingbrooke and the full business case was sent to the Department and HM Treasury for scrutiny. It is anticipated that a decision regarding the business case will be made very soon.
	Circle will manage the hospital but the hospital will trade and provide services as a national health service trust. The trust will therefore be subject to the same quality and standards regulations as all other NHS hospitals.
	The board of Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust will continue to meet in public and publish its agendas and minutes.
	Currently, there is no contract between Circle and Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust. The contract will be signed only when approvals have been received from the Department and HM Treasury. The contract may be made publicly available, subject to commercial confidentiality.
	Circle has made a commitment to address the hospital's historic debt. The trust, under Circle's management, may be permitted, subject to normal NHS procedures, to sell its assets. However, any revenue gained would be reinvested within the hospital. As part of the franchise, Circle is committed to maintain the current level of services, as long as commissioners continue to purchase them. This includes accident and emergency and maternity services, a commitment to which was made following the 2007 public consultation, led by the lead commissioner, NHS Cambridgeshire. In the future, if there are proposals to change the services provided at the hospital, they will be subject to public consultation, as they would with any NHS hospital. Circle's plans for the hospital as defined in their bid do not include plans to construct any new facilities.
	Under the Hinchingbrooke hospital franchise arrangement, staff will remain employees of the NHS, retaining their terms and conditions. The hospital's assets will remain within the NHS, and patients will continue to receive NHS services.

Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his letter to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne of 7 December 2010, what the reason is for the time taken to commence the franchise of Hinchingbrooke NHS Trust.

Simon Burns: The business case for the appointment of the proposed preferred bidder for the management franchise at Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust is currently with the Government for consideration. This has taken longer then expected to review, but it is important to emphasise the significance of this business case in terms of the new model of contract and financial transaction involved, requiring a full and considered analysis.
	A decision is now expected very shortly.

Hospitals: Greater London

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the number of non-disclosure clauses signed by doctors in each London hospital in the last five years; and what information his Department holds on the reasons for the clause in each case.

Simon Burns: The Department does not hold this information. Each national health service employer would hold information in relation to the use of non-disclosure clauses for its own employees including doctors.

Influenza: Vaccination

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the availability of influenza vaccine for winter 2011-12.

Anne Milton: Departmental officials are in regular contact with influenza vaccine suppliers; who have reported no problems with the production or distribution of the vaccine for this flu season. Vaccine suppliers are making available 16.7 million doses of vaccine in the United Kingdom this winter. This figure is about one million doses higher than the equivalent figure last year. In addition, the Department has procured a strategic reserve of 400,000 doses of vaccine for use if shortages occur.
	Vaccine suppliers report that by week ending 30 September, 8.4 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine have been distributed to the national health service and private sector in the UK. This is 1.3 million doses higher than the equivalent figure last year.

Medical Records: Databases

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the safeguards in the Personal Demographics Service to prevent illegal access to personal information.

Simon Burns: The Personal Demographics Service (PDS) resides within a fully private network known as N3. The service can only be accessed from within this private network or through centrally managed and assured gateways such as the secure Government network (GCSX). If an attacker manages to gain access to the national health service private N3 network they would then have to break through many separate layers of tiered architecture with each tier being protected by industry grade firewalls of different manufacture to access the database. The firewalls are supported by intrusion detection systems, and other multiple security measures which routinely monitor network traffic and alert upon detection of suspicious activity.
	Local access to the PDS is controlled by local organisations and each organisation is legally responsible for compliance with the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation. This requires that they put in place appropriate technical and organisational measures to prevent unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data such as that held by the PDS. Organisations with access to the PDS are expected to complete and publish an annual assessment of the adequacy of their safeguards through the NHS Information Governance Toolkit.

Members: Correspondence

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Leeds West of 2 September 2011.

Simon Burns: I responded to the hon. Member's letter of 2 September 2011 on 11 October 2011.

NHS: Psychology

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many psychologists employed by the NHS specialised in (a) cancer, (b) dermatology, (c) burns, (d) plastics, (e) ophthalmology, (f) craniofacial conditions, (g) maxillofacial conditions and (h) neurological conditions in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The annual national health service work force census does not collect the number of psychologists who work in each of the specialist areas. The number of clinical psychologists employed by the NHS in England at 30 September 2010 was 6,901 full-time equivalent staff.

NHS: Reform

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how commissioners will obtain specialist advice on speech, language and communication needs under his proposals for NHS reform.

Simon Burns: A full range of health and care professionals will be involved in the new commissioning arrangements, supporting the NHS Commissioning Board and clinical commissioning groups to design pathways of care and shape services including those services providing specialist advice on speech, language and communication. Clinical commissioning groups will be under a duty to secure professional advice and to ensure this advice is from a full range of health professionals where relevant.
	Clinical commissioning groups will receive expert support and advice from clinical networks and senates on the design and delivery of services. Clinical networks and senates will have a wide range of multi-disciplinary input, including allied health professionals, to support the better integration of services.

Orthopaedics: Footwear

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints the NHS received in relation to orthopaedic shoes in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: This information is not collected centrally. It is for local national health service organisations to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health and to commission services accordingly including the provision of orthopaedic footwear. They are free to determine their own criteria for the provision of orthopaedic footwear and should ensure the quality of services is appropriate.

Waiting Lists: Birmingham

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people waited over six months for NHS treatment in Birmingham in each year since 1997.

Simon Burns: The information is not collected in the form requested.
	
		
			 Number of finished consultant episodes with a wait of over  (1,2)   six months (182 days or more), for all Birmingham primary care trusts  (3)  , from 1997-98 to 2009-10  (4) 
			  Finished consultant episodes 
			 2009-10 14,994 
			 2008-09 13,590 
			 2007-08 9,925 
			 2006-07 9,522 
			 2005-06 9,675 
			 2004-05 11,149 
			 2003-04 13,649 
			 2002-03 15,448 
			 2001-02 11,609 
			 2000-01 10,974 
			 1999-2000 9,473 
		
	
	
		
			 1998-99 14,982 
			 1997-98 11,398 
			 (1) A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. (2) Time waited statistics from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period, whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension. In order to calculate those who waited more than six months, we have used waits of 182 days or longer. (3) In July 2006, the national health service reorganised strategic health authorities (SHAs) and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England from 28 SHAs into 10, and from 303 PCTs into 152. As a result data from 2006-07 onwards are not directly comparable with previous years. Data have been presented for those SHA/PCTs which have valid data for the breakdown presented here. As a result some SHA/PCTs may be missing from the list provided. 2006-07 onwards:  PCTs used: 5M1—South Birmingham 5MX—Heart of Birmingham 5PG—Birmingham East and North Pre 2006-07: 5MX—Heart of Birmingham 5M1—South Birmingham 5MW—North Birmingham PCT 5MY—Eastern Birmingham PCT (4) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, The Information Centre for health and social care

Waiting Lists: Birmingham

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for (a) inpatient and (b) outpatient treatments was for patients in Birmingham on (i) May 1997 and (ii) May of each subsequent year.

Simon Burns: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			 Average time waited for in-patients and out-patients  (1)   in Birmingham primary care trusts of residence  (2)  , from May 1997-98 to May 2009-10 for the months of May  (3) 
			  In-patients Out-patients 
			 2009-10 59.2 37.6 
			 2008-09 56.0 36.4 
			 2007-08 61.1 45.6 
			 2006-07 62.9 54.7 
			 2005-06 62.3 48.6 
			 2004-05 64.9 47.7 
			 2003-04 66.9 44.0 
			 2002-03 62.3 n/a 
			 2001-02 63.9 n/a 
		
	
	
		
			 2000-01 69.5 n/a 
			 1999-2000 67.1 n/a 
			 1998-99 93.1 n/a 
			 1997-98 80.1 n/a 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Time waited statistics from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period, whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension. (2) In July 2006, the national health service reorganised strategic health authorities (SHAs) and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England from 28 SHAs into 10, and from 303 PCTs into 152. As a result data from 2006-07 onwards are not directly comparable with previous years. Data have been presented for those SHA/PCTs which have valid data for the breakdown presented here. As a result some SHA/PCTs may be missing from the list provided. 2006-07 onwards:  PCTs used: 5M1—South Birmingham 5MX—Heart of Birmingham 5PG—Birmingham East and North Pre 2006-07: 5MX—Heart of Birmingham 5M1—South Birmingham 5MW—North Birmingham PCT 5MY—Eastern Birmingham PCT (3) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, The Information Centre for health and social care

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: British Council

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the British Council's work in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

William Hague: The British Council carries out important work in Afghanistan in dangerous circumstances. The attack on their compound on 19 August is a reminder of the difficult circumstances in which they work, and I pay tribute to their staff. The Council is currently operating from a temporary office in our embassy compound and has sustained all its major programmes.
	The British Council returned to Afghanistan in 2002 and runs programmes supporting the professional aspirations of the next generation of Afghan leaders and in support of the Afghan people as they take control of their own development, governance, stability and cultural determination. This includes programmes in education, civil society, English and cultural development. In 2010-11 they engaged with 13,000 Afghans face to face and reached over two million through digital means, broadcast and publications. For example, their schools programme has involved over 11,000 students and teachers who worked on joint curriculum projects with UK schools.
	They continue to provide Afghan military staff with English training and Ministry of Education English supervisors with training in modern methods of English teaching.
	The British Council measures the impact and effectiveness of all its work using indicators measuring customer satisfaction, reputation and advocacy. There is a standard evaluation framework used to evaluate the impact of every programme.

Algeria: Religious Freedom

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Algeria on religious freedom for Christians in that country.

Alistair Burt: The Government raise human rights, including freedom of religion and belief, with the Government of Algeria regularly, both in bilateral discussions and through the EU. Following a recent visit by Stefan Füle, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU and the Algerian Government have increased dialogue on these issues, by establishing a sub-committee on security and human rights.
	We continue to monitor religious freedom in the middle east and North African region closely and will raise this issue as part of our discussions with the Algerian Government.

Belarus

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department last had direct discussions with the government of Belarus.

David Lidington: There have been no direct ministerial discussions between the UK and Belarus since the last general election. I did however see the Belarusian ambassador to London on 22 December 2010 to express condemnation on behalf of the British Government of the abuse of political freedom by the Belarusian authorities which followed the presidential elections on 19 December 2010.

B'Tselem

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much (a) financial and (b) other support his Department provided to B'Tselem—The Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: During the last five years the Middle East and North Africa Conflict programme have provided £185,000 to B’Tselem.
	This is broken down as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2010-11 135,000 
			 2006-07 (1)50,000 
			 (1) Project jointly administered by B’Tselem and Hamoked 
		
	
	The project in 2010-11 was designed to bring about an improvement in the human rights situation in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem using film and video documentation as both a deterrent and tool for accountability.
	In 2006-7 the project was to help the facilitation of freedom of movement for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories through legal and administrative action, advocacy and public education.

China

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with the government of China in 2011.

Jeremy Browne: The UK Government has held three high-level dialogues and a wide range of ministerial-level dialogues and other meetings with the Chinese Government in 2011. The high level dialogues and visits in the UK have included the Prime Ministerial Summit in June, the Strategic Dialogue in late September, the Economic and Financial Dialogue in early September and the visit of Vice Premier Li Keqiang in January. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers and officials were involved in all of these visits, each of which involved several meetings with several Chinese Ministers and officials.
	FCO Ministers have also been involved in ministerial-level dialogues and meetings including a meeting between the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York in September, the first Growth Dialogue with the National Development and Reform Commission hosted by the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend the right hon. Lord Green in London in September, and visits to London by Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying and Assistant Ministry of Commerce Minister Qiu Hong.
	In addition, Lord Green in March, and I in May/June both visited China where we met our ministerial counterparts and other representatives of the Chinese Government.
	We have also held a number of official-level dialogues with the Chinese Government including the Human Rights Dialogue in the UK in January, the Counter Proliferation and Security Dialogue in China in June, an Africa Dialogue in the UK in June, and a South Asia Dialogue in China in September. FCO officials responsible for a wide range of policy areas have also visited China for expert-level discussions in 2011.
	FCO officials regularly meet Chinese embassy officials in London, as well as visiting delegations from China covering a range of subjects. FCO officials based in our diplomatic network in China also meet Chinese Government representatives on a very frequent basis.

China

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many hon. Members his Department assisted in arranging visas for or meetings in China in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Jeremy Browne: Applications for visas for China are dealt with by the Chinese embassy. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not assist hon. Members with their visa applications. However the FCO Travel Centre will provide practical assistance to FCO and other Ministers with their applications for a visa.
	The China Department of the FCO and our embassy and consulates general in China may assist visiting Members of Parliament and parliamentary delegations with setting up their programmes and by providing factual briefings where necessary. The Department provided logistical assistance and/or factual briefings for 12 non-ministerial visits to China by hon. Members in 2010 and 16 in 2011.

China: Human Rights

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed in person human rights and democracy with the Chinese Ambassador.

Jeremy Browne: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) last discussed human rights and democracy with the Chinese ambassador in person at the UK-China strategic dialogue on 26 September. Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo was also in attendance.

Columbia: Human Rights

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what human rights issues he raised during his meeting with the Colombian foreign minister on 13 July 2011.

William Hague: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 6 September 2011, Official Report, column 448W.

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the resource budget allocation was for the office of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Henry Bellingham: The Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) role and CSA Office were created on 5 August 2009.
	Resource budget allocations for the CSA Office in relevant financial years were as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2009-10 15,000 
			 2010-11 18,300 
			 2011-12 20,000 
		
	
	The CSA Office is staffed by one full-time D6/Grade 7 officer and 50% of one A2/AO PA. Average salaries for these grades in relevant years were:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Grades 
			  A2 D6 
			 2009-10 27,348 61,193 
			 2010-11 28,732 64,842 
			 2011-12 28,405 64,677

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the salary, including benefits, was of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many individuals have held the post in the last five years.

Henry Bellingham: Professor David Clary FRS was appointed as the first Foreign and Commonwealth Office Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) on 5 August 2009.
	Working 40% full-time equivalent at SMS3/SCS3 level, Professor Clary's total FCO salary paid for relevant years was as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2009 (August 5) to 2010 (April 5) 32,800 
			 2010-11 49,200 
			 2011-12 49,200

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many full-time equivalent staff were employed in the office of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and on what date the office was established.

Henry Bellingham: The Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) Office was established on 5 August 2009, the same date that Professor David Clary FRS took up his role as Foreign and Commonwealth Office, CSA.
	The CSA himself is 40% full-time equivalent at SMS3/SCS3 level, and is supported by one full-time D6/Grade 7 officer and 50% of an A2/AO PA. This staffing level has remained unchanged since the CSA Office was established.

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on requiring his Department's (a) agencies and non-departmental public bodies and (b) contractors to have a written code of practice or protocol relating to the provision, conduct and quality assurance of scientific evidence and advice.

Henry Bellingham: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have any agencies, non department public bodies or contractors dedicated to the provision of scientific advice. It requires all its contractors and service providers to meet appropriate standards as regards qualifications, best practice and quality assurance. An appropriate standard for scientific advice would be the Government Chief Scientific Adviser's “Guidelines on the use of science and engineering advice in policy making”.

Departmental Official Visits

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have visited the institutions of the (a) European Union, (b) World Trade Organisation, (c) United Nations, (d) International Monetary Fund and (e) Commonwealth in each year since 2005.

David Lidington: The previous Government published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office publishes information on ministerial travel at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/transparency-and-data1/hospitality/
	on a quarterly basis.

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on new furnishings in the last year.

David Lidington: This information is not held centrally and is only available at disproportionate cost.

Detainees

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many requests he received from hon. Members for assistance from his Department to bring to trial constituents detained in other countries in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Browne: This information is not centrally held and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers and our consular directorate in London continue to welcome contact from hon. Members in relation to constituents or family members of constituents detained aboard. Supporting British nationals who are detained abroad is a vital part of the work of the FCO. This support is explained in our publication “Support for British nationals abroad: A guide”, which is available on the FCO website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/publications

Dubai: Detainees

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many hon. Members wrote to him about constituents detained and awaiting trial in Dubai in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Browne: This information is not centrally held and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers and our consular directorate in London continue to welcome contact from hon. Members in relation to constituents or family members of constituents detained in Dubai. Supporting British nationals who are detained abroad is a vital part of the work of the FCO. This support is explained in our publication “Support for British nationals abroad: A guide”, which is available on the FCO website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/publications

Indian Subcontinent: Human Rights

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he received from (a) the Indian Government, (b) the Pakistani Government, (c) human rights organisations and (d) individuals prior to the debate on Human Rights on the Indian Subcontinent on 15 September 2011.

Alistair Burt: Prior to the debate on 15 September, I received no representations from the Indian or Pakistani Governments. No representations were received from human rights organisations. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office did however receive inquiries about the nature of the debate from media organisations. No information was passed to such organisations ahead of the debate.

Kashmir: Foreign Relations

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on Kashmir; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) regularly speaks to his United States, Indian and Pakistani counterparts about regional issues including relations between India and Pakistan. With the United States and EU we recognise the importance of finding a lasting solution to the situation in Kashmir but it is not for third parties to prescribe one. It is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution, one which takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Kashmir: Human Rights

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on respect for human rights in Kashmir; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: While the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has not had recent discussions on human rights in Kashmir, the issue of security legislation operating in certain regions of India was raised with the Indian Government during the recent EU-India Human Rights dialogue.

Kashmir: Human Rights

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Indian Government on respect for human rights in Indian-administered Kashmir; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of any such discussions.

Alistair Burt: I refer my hon. Friend to the response the Minister of State, my noble Friend, the right hon. Lord Howell of Guildford, gave in the other place to an oral question on 12 July 2011, Official Report, House of Lords, column 597.
	We recognise there are human rights concerns in both Indian and Pakistan-administered Kashmir and we followed the widely reported violent unrest in Indian-administered Kashmir last year. During a recent visit to Indian administered Kashmir, officials from our high commission in New Delhi discussed the issue of detentions with the Jammu and Kashmir state police and human rights groups. The issue of security legislation operating in certain regions of India, was raised with the Indian Government during the recent EU-India Human Rights dialogue.
	We are closely following the work of the three interlocutors to help resolve the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir. We continue to call for an improvement in the human rights situation on both sides of the Line of Control and for an end to external support for violence in Kashmir. Officials in our high commissions in Islamabad and New Delhi regularly discuss India-Pakistan relations, including Kashmir with their counterparts in both countries.

Kashmir: Human Rights

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with human rights organisations on respect for human rights in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Alistair Burt: I refer my hon. Friend to the response the Minister of State, my noble Friend, the right hon. Lord Howell of Guildford, gave in the other place to an oral question on 12 July 2011, Official Report, House of Lords, column 597.
	We recognise there are human rights concerns in both Indian and Pakistan-administered Kashmir and we followed the widely reported violent unrest in Indian-administered Kashmir last year. During a recent visit to Indian administered Kashmir, officials from our high commission in New Delhi discussed the issue of detentions with the Jammu and Kashmir state police and human rights groups. The issue of security legislation operating in certain regions of India, was raised with the Indian Government during the recent EU-India Human Rights dialogue.
	We are closely following the work of the three interlocutors to help resolve the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir. We continue to call for an improvement in the human rights situation on both sides of the Line of Control and for an end to external support for violence in Kashmir. Officials in our high commissions in Islamabad and New Delhi regularly discuss India-Pakistan relations, including Kashmir with their counterparts in both countries.

Kashmir: Peacekeeping Operations

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to help achieve a long-term peace in Kashmir.

Alistair Burt: As I said during the debate on Human Rights on Indian subcontinent on 15 September 2011, Official Report, columns 1290-91:
	"The position of successive British Governments has consistently been that any resolution must be for India and Pakistan to agree, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. As India and Pakistan are currently making efforts to build confidence in all aspects of their relationship, I believe it is important that they be given space to determine the scope and pace of that dialogue. No matter how well intentioned, any attempts by the UK or other third parties to mediate or prescribe solutions would hinder progress.
	Our officials in our high commissions regularly discuss and regularly raise difficult issues in Kashmir with both the Indian and Pakistani Governments and with contacts in those areas. Our resources from the conflict pool also support work promoting human rights, conflict prevention and peace-building efforts".

Libya: UN Resolutions

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) his counterparts in (i) France and (ii) the US and (b) the Libyan National Transitional Council on the inclusion of women in the Paris conference and follow-up meetings in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.

Alistair Burt: holding answer 11 October 2011
	The Prime Minister emphasised the importance the Government attaches to women's rights in his speech to the UN General Assembly on the 22 September. The Government have stressed to the National Transitional Council repeatedly the importance of establishing an inclusive interim government that includes women and ensures their full participation in a new Libyan society. The Government are committed to their obligations under UNSCR 1325, and are working to determine what bilateral support the UK can provide the new Libyan Government.

Middle East: Detainees

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many hon. Members requested assistance from his Department for constituents detained without trial in countries in the middle east in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Browne: This information is not centrally held and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers and our consular directorate in London continue to welcome contact from hon. Members in relation to constituents or family members of constituents detained in the middle east. Supporting British nationals who are detained abroad is a vital part of the work of the FCO. This support is explained in our publication "Support for British nationals abroad: A guide", which is available on the FCO website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/publications

North Korea: Detainees

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea the case of the family of Dr Oh Kil-nam, believed to have been detained in Yodok prison camp in North Korea.

Jeremy Browne: We are aware of the case of Dr Oh Kil-nam's family, which was also recently raised in the South Korean media. If the media reports are correct, such cases are a clear reminder of why North Korea remains a country of concern on the Foreign and Commonwealth's annual Human Rights Report. We use every opportunity to raise our concerns with the North Korean Government directly.

Palestinians: United Nations

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government has taken to support the Palestinian Authority's efforts to be recognised as a sovereign, independent and contiguous state by the United Nations.

Alistair Burt: The Prime Minister has made the UK's position on recognition of a Palestinian state clear: a Palestinian state is a legitimate goal, and the best way of achieving this is through a comprehensive agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The UK is fully committed to supporting the Palestinian Authority state building plan and helping build the institutions of a future Palestinian state.
	We do not anticipate an imminent vote in the UN Security Council on the membership application by Palestinian President Abbas. Whether the membership committee returns the issue to the Security Council, or whether President Abbas decides to turn to the General Assembly, the UK will use its vote in a way that increases the likelihood of a return to meaningful negotiations.
	Bringing the parties back to negotiations remains our focus. The Quartet statement agreed on 23 September provides a clear timetable. This is a welcome step which we hope provides a basis for the two sides to come back to the table.

Sri Lanka: Armed Conflict

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Sri Lanka on the independence of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission; and what assessment his Department has made of the prospects that the Commission will meet the deadline of November 2011 to produce its final report.

Alistair Burt: We share international concern about the credibility of the Lessons Learned Reconciliation Commission's (LLRC) process. In my calls with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister and during the visit of the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Mr Fox), we encouraged the Sri Lankan Government to use the LLRC to address past allegations effectively. The LLRC was originally due to report in November 2010, later extended to May 2011. Now we await its final report on 15 November 2011.

Sri Lanka: Armed Conflict

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Sri Lanka on protection for witnesses and victims appearing before the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission.

Alistair Burt: Sri Lanka does not have a functioning witness protection system and the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) did not establish any separate procedures. Unidentified plain-clothed individuals reportedly photographed civilians who testified during its public hearings, which ran from August 2010 to March 2011. Despite this, a number of affected civilians gave evidence. The majority were concerned about locating disappeared and missing relatives.
	Our high commission in Colombo raised concerns with the Sri Lankan Government over witness protection for those appearing before the LLRC on a number of occasions and continues to follow closely the Commission's work.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many letters he has received on funding for civil society organisations within his Department's area of responsibility in each month since 1 June 2010; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: This information is not held centrally and is available only at disproportionate cost.

West Bank: Schools

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the proposed demolition of the school in Khan al Ahmar, west bank;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the effects on the Bedouin population in the west bank of demolitions of homes and schools by Israel.

Alistair Burt: Senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development (DFID) officials most recently visited the Khan al Ahmar school for the Bedouin Jahilin community on 6 October. They discussed with Palestinian and UN officials how to respond to this threat of action that would be illegal under international humanitarian law and that would affect the human rights of the children attending the school and their communities.
	Our ambassador to Israel raised this issue with the Israeli Defence Minister Barak on 5 October, as well as with the chief aide to Education Minister Saar.
	The UK has a long-standing policy of lobbying hard on issues relating to demolitions and settlement building, and we will continue to do so. We view any attempts to change the facts on the ground as a serious provocation likely to prompt tensions between communities and cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians. We view such steps as harmful to the peace process and in contravention of international law.
	We continue to follow this case actively.

JUSTICE

Bill of Rights Commission: European Court of Human Rights

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the Bill of Rights Commission's interim proposals on the reform of the European Court of Human Rights; and which recommendations from the Commission the Government plans to accept;
	(2)  what the Government's plans are for reforming (a) the European Court of Human Rights and (b) the European Convention on Human Rights; and if he will make a statement.

Kenneth Clarke: The Government welcome the Commission's interim advice on the reform of the European Court of Human Rights.
	Our top priority when we take over the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will be to deliver a key stage of the reform process that has been ongoing for some years. The Court must focus on the most important cases and have proper regard to the judgment of national Parliaments and courts. It must operate more effectively and efficiently as a proper safeguard against human rights abuses.
	The way the Court works is set out in the Convention, so reform could involve changes to the Convention only if all 47 member states of the Council of Europe agree to it. We will be negotiating and seeking to agree a package of reforms with all member states during our chairmanship, and will take into account the recommendations in the Commission's advice.
	The Government will inform the House of their full plans for the UK chairmanship of the Council of Europe in due course.

Civil Disorder

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged under-18 years in each ethnic group have been imprisoned (a) on remand and (b) under sentence in connection with the public disorder of August 2011.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has published frequent updates on people being dealt with by the court system in relation to the disturbances on 6-9 August. These reports can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/ad-hoc/index.htm
	A more detailed release was published on 15 September containing detailed information on age, gender, offence committed, sentence given, and previous criminal history. This can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/criminal-justice/public-disorder-august-11.htm
	A further publication is planned for the last week of October will cover wider socio-economic and demographic characteristics, including ethnicity information.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) number of claims and (b) total value of claims paid to residents of the City of Nottingham through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme was in the latest financial year for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) has defined Nottingham as any street with a postcode in the range NG1 to NG16 for the purposes of gathering the data for this answer. Applicants sometimes do not give CICA their postcode and such applicants do not appear in this data.
	CICA received 853 claims from Nottingham residents in the 2010-11 financial year.
	CICA paid 851 Nottingham residents a total of £2,268,529 in compensation in the 2010-11 financial year. This reflects claims finalised in 2010-11, a proportion of which will have been lodged in previous years, so does not cover the same cases mentioned at the first part of the answer.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which local authorities are piloting new ways to share data and increase electoral registration; and when the pilots will finish.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply.
	22 data matching pilot schemes are under way, two of which (Lothian Valuation Joint Board and Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board) include more than one local authority. These local authorities are testing the usefulness of matching their electoral registers against a selection of public databases to identify people missing from the register or entries on the register that may be inaccurate or fraudulent. The ability of a local authority to provide its data for the purposes of the data matching schemes ends on 30 November 2011. The Electoral Commission will evaluate each scheme by 1 March 2012.
	The participating local authorities are:
	Borough of Blackpool
	Borough of Colchester
	Lothian Valuation Joint Board (City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian)
	District of Forest of Dean
	London Borough of Greenwich
	London Borough of Newham
	Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board (Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde)
	Borough of Rushmoor
	London Borough of Southwark
	City of Sunderland
	Borough of Wigan
	County of Wiltshire
	London Borough of Camden
	District of Forest Heath
	City of Glasgow
	City of Manchester
	City of Peterborough
	County of Shropshire
	District of Stratford-on-Avon
	London Borough of Tower Hamlets
	Teignbridge
	City of Wolverhampton

Judicial Review: Public Sector

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what information his Department holds on the number of applications for judicial review that were (a) received, (b) granted and (c) refused on matters relating to the awarding of public sector contracts in each of the last three years.

Kenneth Clarke: Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service does not keep statistics on judicial reviews according to the nature of the review requested, such as the awarding of public sector contracts.
	In order to provide the information requested it would require a trawl through judicial review case files for the period in question to identify those that relate to public sector contracts—which is cost prohibitive.

Polygamy

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many polygamous households exist in the UK; and what steps are being taken to reduce the number of such households.

Jonathan Djanogly: Polygamous marriages can not be legally formed in the UK. Nor is it possible for anyone domiciled in the United Kingdom to enter into a polygamous marriage abroad. Where a polygamous marriage is contracted outside the United Kingdom between parties, neither of whom is domiciled in the United Kingdom, it will be recognised.
	The Office for National Statistics produces estimates of the population by marital status. These estimates cover single (never married), married, widowed and divorced statuses. No assessment is made of the number of polygamous households.
	There is some anecdotal evidence of people entering into polygamous marriage in the UK through religious ceremonies that are not registered by the state and are not recognised under UK law. Due to the fact that these marriages are not legally recognised there is no indication of how many such polygamous relationships exist. Any parties to such relationships do not share the same rights as a legally married couple, such as access to financial remedies available on divorce or inheritance rights on the death of one of the spouses, and are treated as cohabitants. The Government have carried out some work with the Muslim community to encourage mosques to undertake the civil aspects of marriage and to raise awareness of the need for marriages to be legally recognised.

Prison Accommodation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) certified normal accommodation and (b) operational capacity was of each prison and young offenders establishment on (i) 1 January 2008, (ii) 1 January 2009, (iii) 1 January 2010, (iv) 1 January 2011 and (v) 1 October 2011.

Crispin Blunt: This information is not available in the format requested. The total certified normal accommodation and operational capacity of each establishment in the NOMS custodial estate is published for the last working Friday of every month. Figures for the last working Friday in December 2007, December 2008, December 2009, December 2010 and September 2011 are set out in the following tables. This information is published monthly on the MOJ website via the attached link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/prisons-and-probation/prison-population-figures/index.htm
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  Fri  day   28   December   2007 Fri  day   19   December   2008 
			 Establishment Certified normal accommodation Operational capacity Certified normal accommodation Operational capacity 
			 Acklington/Castington 1,282 1,292 1,346 1,356 
			 Altcourse 794 1,288 794 1,324 
			 Ashfield 400 400 400 400 
			 Ashwell 534 544 599 619 
			 Askham Grange 126 128 126 128 
			 Aylesbury 437 444 437 444 
			 Bedford 322 494 322 506 
			 Belmarsh 799 909 800 910 
			 Birmingham 1,121 1,450 1,109 1,450 
			 Blantyre House 122 122 122 122 
			 Blundeston 421 466 481 526 
			 Brinsford 473 489 545 569 
			 Bristol 420 606 424 614 
			 Brixton 606 798 606 798 
			 Bronzefield 450 465 450 465 
			 Buckley Hall 350 385 346 381 
			 Bullingdon 759 963 879 1,114 
			 Bullwood Hall 170 184 180 228 
			 Bure — — — — 
			 Canterbury 196 294 195 314 
			 Cardiff 524 754 548 824 
			 Channings Wood 698 731 696 729 
			 Chelmsford 541 695 541 695 
			 Coldingley 370 392 494 513 
			 Cookham Wood 17 17 90 102 
			 Dartmoor 619 646 629 656 
			 Deerbolt 447 452 453 453 
			 Doncaster 771 1,146 771 1,146 
			 Dorchester 143 257 145 259 
			 Dovegate 800 860 800 860 
			 Downview 358 358 359 359 
			 Drake Hall 315 315 315 315 
			 Durham 591 981 594 985 
			 East Sutton Park 98 100 98 100 
			 Eastwood Park 326 362 326 362 
			 Erlestoke 410 410 470 470 
			 Everthorpe 603 689 603 689 
			 Exeter 316 533 316 533 
			 Featherstone 663 679 663 687 
			 Feltham 762 762 762 762 
			 Ford 541 541 557 557 
			 Forest Bank 800 1,124 800 1,160 
			 Foston Hall 283 290 283 291 
			 Frankland 732 749 733 750 
			 Full Sutton 600 612 592 604 
			 Garth 812 812 812 847 
			 Gartree 570 575 645 650 
			 Glen Parva 668 808 668 808 
			 Gloucester 225 321 225 321 
		
	
	
		
			 Grendon/Spring Hill 548 548 533 533 
			 Guys Marsh 520 578 520 578 
			 Hatfield 260 260 260 260 
			 Haverigg 622 635 622 644 
			 Hewell 1,178 1,427 1,173 1,431 
			 High Down 821 925 999 1,103 
			 Highpoint (North and South) 1,158 1,187 1,213 1,237 
			 Hindley 523 523 515 515 
			 Hollesley Bay 330 330 345 345 
			 Holloway 498 501 500 500 
			 Holme House 857 994 857 994 
			 Hull 723 1,040 723 1,044 
			 Huntercombe 360 365 360 365 
			 Isis — — — — 
			 Isle of Wight 1,502 1,627 1,535 1,658 
			 Kennet 175 342 174 341 
			 Kingston 199 200 175 175 
			 Kirkham 590 590 590 590 
			 Kirklevington Grange 223 223 283 283 
			 Lancaster 96 177 159 243 
			 Lancaster Farms 480 527 480 517 
			 Latchmere House 207 207 207 207 
			 Leeds 678 1,000 780 1,084 
			 Leicester 210 392 210 392 
			 Lewes 458 558 623 723 
			 Leyhill 512 512 512 512 
			 Lincoln 436 738 432 730 
			 Lindholme 930 990 922 1,010 
			 Littlehey 663 706 663 726 
			 Liverpool 1160 1,439 1,166 1,445 
			 Long Lartin 426 464 452 499 
			 Low Newton 291 328 298 336 
			 Lowdham Grange 640 680 640 690 
			 Maidstone 451 482 451 482 
			 Manchester 954 1,269 948 1,269 
			 Moorland 740 791 740 794 
			 Morton Hall 392 392 392 392 
			 Mount 747 764 747 768 
			 New Hall 393 443 393 447 
			 North Sea Camp 306 306 318 318 
			 Northallerton 153 252 147 252 
			 Norwich 447 557 447 557 
			 Nottingham 379 550 379 550 
			 Onley 640 640 640 640 
			 Parc 838 1,138 838 1,200 
			 Pentonville 799 1,152 813 1,152 
			 Peterborough (Male and Female) 840 1,008 840 1008 
			 Portland 519 557 579 624 
			 Preston 429 750 453 800 
			 Ranby 912 1,038 969 1,098 
			 Reading 182 287 186 289 
			 Risley 1,050 1,095 1,050 1,095 
			 Rochester 392 392 626 626 
			 Rye Hill 600 600 600 664 
			 Send 216 216 278 278 
			 Sheppey 1,968 2,222 1,966 2,220 
			 Shepton Mallet 165 189 165 189 
			 Shrewsbury 175 328 177 332 
			 Stafford 680 680 721 721 
			 Stocken 715 742 779 816 
		
	
	
		
			 Stoke Heart 516 632 574 676 
			 Styal 450 460 450 460 
			 Sudbury 563 571 581 581 
			 Swansea 240 422 240 422 
			 Swinfen Hall 600 620 604 624 
			 Thorn Cross 322 321 322 322 
			 Usk/Prescoed 317 428 317 428 
			 Verne 560 595 560 595 
			 Wakefield 748 751 748 751 
			 Wandsworth 965 1,475 1,086 1,644 
			 Warren Hill 222 222 222 222 
			 Wayland 657 717 955 1,017 
			 Wealstun 885 907 505 527 
			 Wellingborough 636 646 638 646 
			 Werrington 160 162 160 162 
			 Wetherby 360 384 342 374 
			 Whatton 758 821 776 841 
			 Whitemoor 464 458 464 458 
			 Winchester 380 544 499 706 
			 Wolds 320 380 320 395 
			 Woodhill 641 807 641 819 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1,173 1,256 1,176 1,277 
			 Wymott 1,005 1,062 1,081 1,144 
		
	
	
		
			  Friday 18 December 2009 Friday 31 December 2010 Friday 30 September 2011 
			 Establishment Certified norma  l   accommodation Operational capacity Certified normal accommodation Operational   capacity Certified normal accommodation Operational capacity 
			 Acklington/Castington 1,346 1,356 1,353 1,355 1,297 1,299 
			 Altcourse 794 1,324 794 1,324 794 1,204 
			 Ashfield 400 400 407 360 407 383 
			 Ashwell 184 204 184 214 -- -- 
			 Askham Grange 126 128 126 128 126 128 
			 Aylesbury 437 444 421 444 424 444 
			 Bedford 321 506 321 506 322 506 
			 Belmarsh 800 902 800 933 800 957 
			 Birmingham 1,109 1,450 1,088 1,450 1,093 1,450 
			 Blantyre House 122 122 122 122 122 122 
			 Blundeston 481 526 409 454 409 454 
			 Brinsford 545 569 545 577 545 577 
			 Bristol 424 614 420 606 412 622 
			 Brixton 606 798 530 798 530 798 
			 Bronzefield 470 485 527 527 527 527 
			 Buckley Hall 350 385 350 385 410 445 
			 Bullingdon 879 1,114 879 1,114 879 1,114 
			 Bullwood Hall 220 228 220 228 220 228 
			 Bure 120 120 503 523 503 523 
			 Canterbury 195 314 195 314 195 314 
			 Cardiff 548 824 554 824 539 814 
			 Channings Wood 696 729 698 731 698 731 
			 Chelmsford 554 695 554 695 554 747 
			 Coldingley 494 513 494 513 494 513 
			 Cookham Wood 120 120 143 143 143 143 
			 Dartmoor 582 609 493 514 501 522 
			 Deerbolt 513 513 513 513 513 513 
			 Doncaster 771 1,146 713 1,145 713 1,145 
			 Dorchester 137 259 146 260 146 260 
			 Dovegate 1,060 1,120 1,060 1,180 1,060 1,135 
			 Downview 358 359 291 291 291 291 
			 Drake Hall 315 315 315 315 315 315 
		
	
	
		
			 Durham 606 1,011 606 1,014 606 1,017 
			 East Sutton Park 98 100 98 100 98 100 
			 Eastwood Park 326 362 333 363 333 363 
			 Erlestoke 470 470 370 370 494 494 
			 Everthorpe 603 689 603 689 603 689 
			 Exeter 315 537 316 545 316 545 
			 Featherstone 642 655 642 655 671 687 
			 Feltham 762 762 762 762 762 762 
			 Ford 557 557 557 557 521 521 
			 Forest Bank 914 1,274 1,064 1,424 1,064 1,364 
			 Foston Hall 283 291 283 298 290 310 
			 Frankland 859 859 859 859 844 844 
			 Full Sutton 591 603 596 608 596 608 
			 Garth 812 847 812 847 811 846 
			 Gartree 689 689 677 677 677 677 
			 Glen Parva 668 808 652 808 649 808 
			 Gloucester 225 321 225 321 213 321 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill 553 553 573 573 571 571 
			 Guys Marsh 520 578 452 509 452 509 
			 Hatfield 260 260 260 260 260 260 
			 Haverigg 622 644 622 644 622 644 
			 Hewell 1,173 1,431 1,173 1,431 1,003 1,261 
			 High Down 999 1,103 999 1,103 999 1,103 
			 Highpoint (North and South) 1,299 1,323 1,299 1,323 1,299 1,323 
			 Hindley 440 440 440 440 440 440 
			 Hollesley Bay 345 345 365 365 365 365 
			 Holloway 496 496 531 531 533 591 
			 Holme House 857 994 1,034 1,212 1,034 1,212 
			 Hull 723 1,044 723 1,044 723 1,044 
			 Huntercombe 360 365 275 275 370 370 
			 Isis — — 252 252 478 622 
			 Isle of Wight 1,562 1,698 1,569 1,705 1,550 1,686 
			 Kennet 175 342 175 342 175 342 
			 Kingston 199 199 199 199 199 199 
			 Kirkham 590 590 592 592 592 592 
			 Kirklevington Grange 283 283 283 283 283 283 
			 Lancaster 159 243 161 243 — — 
			 Lancaster Farms 480 530 480 530 480 530 
			 Latchmere House 207 207 207 207 — — 
			 Leeds 829 1,154 776 1,088 792 1,120 
			 Leicester 210 392 210 392 210 398 
			 Lewes 623 723 495 507 624 714 
			 Leyhill 532 532 530 530 523 523 
			 Lincoln 436 738 427 729 427 729 
			 Lindholme 930 1,010 914 994 930 1,010 
			 Littlehey 663 726 1,143 1,206 1,023 1,086 
			 Liverpool 1,176 1,449 1,157 1,423 1,176 1,448 
			 Long Lartin 622 622 622 622 622 622 
			 Low Newton 269 307 259 282 298 336 
			 Lowdham Grange 640 690 900 930 900 920 
			 Maidstone 565 600 565 600 565 600 
			 Manchester 949 1,268 949 1,268 917 1,256 
			 Moorland 727 772 453 486 633 681 
			 Morton Hall 392 392 392 392 — — 
			 Mount 747 768 747 768 747 768 
			 New Hall 393 447 392 446 392 446 
			 North Sea Camp 318 318 318 318 378 378 
			 Northallerton 147 252 142 242 146 252 
			 Norwich 625 767 625 767 625 767 
		
	
	
		
			 Nottingham 379 550 723 1,060 723 1,060 
			 Onley 710 710 710 710 710 710 
			 Parc 838 1,200 946 1,258 1,170 1474 
			 Pentonville 909 1,272 909 1,272 915 1310 
			 Peterborough (Male and Female) 840 1,008 840 1,008 840 1,008 
			 Portland 535 555 463 483 464 505 
			 Preston 453 842 453 840 455 842 
			 Ranby 969 1,098 892 1,098 892 1,098 
			 Reading 190 293 190 293 190 293 
			 Risley 1,050 1,095 1,050 1,095 1,050 1,095 
			 Rochester 724 724 649 649 664 664 
			 Rye Hill 600 664 600 625 600 625 
			 Send 282 282 282 282 282 282 
			 Sheppey 2,007 2,259 2,501 2,810 2,519 2,828 
			 Shepton Mallet 165 189 165 189 165 189 
			 Shrewsbury 184 340 184 340 182 340 
			 Stafford 741 741 725 741 725 741 
			 Stocken 779 816 779 842 839 902 
			 Stoke Heart 576 692 634 750 634 750 
			 Styal 448 458 451 460 450 459 
			 Sudbury 581 581 581 581 581 581 
			 Swansea 230 402 240 428 240 445 
			 Swinfen Hall 604 654 604 654 604 654 
			 Thorn Cross 322 322 322 322 322 322 
			 Usk/Prescoed 320 434 335 449 357 481 
			 Verne 572 595 571 606 572 607 
			 Wakefield 750 750 748 750 749 749 
			 Wandsworth 1,107 1,665 1,107 1,665 1101 1,665 
			 Warren Hill 222 222 128 128 128 128 
			 Wayland 957 1,017 957 1,017 958 1,017 
			 Wealstun 505 527 810 832 810 832 
			 Wellingborough 638 646 514 522 580 588 
			 Werrington 160 162 160 160 160 160 
			 Wetherby 408 408 384 384 393 393 
			 Whatton 734 821 776 841 776 841 
			 Whitemoor 464 448 452 452 458 458 
			 Winchester 499 706 499 706 499 706 
			 Wolds 320 395 320 395 320 360 
			 Woodhill 656 819 656 819 656 840 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1,176 1,281 1,176 1,281 1,116 1,221 
			 Wymott 1,081 1,144 1,113 1,176 1,113 1,176

Prison: Video Linkup

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many days the video linkup system at Peterborough Prison has been fully operational in the last three months; and what assessment he has made of the costs to the justice system of the system not being fully operational.

Crispin Blunt: The Prison Court Video Link (PCVL) system at HMP Peterborough underwent necessary repair during the period from late August to early October 2011. This led to less usage of the system while these repairs were undertaken. The system is now fully operational.
	The following table provides a comparison of the PCVL usage at HMP Peterborough during the three months July 2011 to September 2011.
	
		
			 2011 Number of occasions PCVL used at HMP Peterborough 
			 July 49 
			 August 50 
			 September 30 
		
	
	It is not possible to predict the exact cost that would have been saved on extra prisoner escorts while the system was being repaired, as the number of usages can vary month on month. However, as an indication, we calculate that the saving made by using PCVL instead of escorts to court in July 2011, the last full month when the system was fully operational, was £16,400 for the 49 occasions used. September's lower usage of 30 occasions is therefore likely to have saved around 39% less than normal expectations.

Prisons: Contracts for services

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department paid to the contractors running (a) HMP Doncaster, (b) HMP Peterborough, (c) HMP Lowdham Grange, (d) HMP Bronzefield, (e) HMP Ashfield, (f) HMP Parc, (g) HMP Altcourse, (h) HMP Forest Bank, (i) HMP Wolds, (j) HMP Dovegate, (k) HMP Birmingham, (l) HMP Featherstone and (m) HMP Rye Hill in the financial year (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

Crispin Blunt: The information requested by the right hon. Member is provided in the following table. The values quoted are based on the invoiced amounts paid to contractors. The same actual invoiced amounts for financial years 2011-12 and 2012-13 are therefore not available at present.
	
		
			 Name of prison 2010-11 (£) 
			 HMP Altcourse 47,349,574 
			 HMP Ashfield 24,929,971 
			 HMP Bronzefield 26,691,539 
			 HMP Doncaster 24,143,901 
			 HMP Dovegate 36,986,311 
			 HMP Forest Bank 36,394,936 
			 HMP Lowdham Grange 25,744,375 
			 HMP Parc 46,515,892 
			 HMP Peterborough 31,901,497 
			 HMP Rye Hill 18,244,416 
			 HMP Wolds 9,195,005 
		
	
	HMP Birmingham only very recently transferred operations across to the new contractor (from 1 October 2011), and as yet no funds have been paid against invoices.
	HMP Featherstone is due to receive its first prisoners in April 2012 and so no invoices have been paid to the contractor to date.

Tribunals Service

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what resources he has allocated to the Tribunals Service to reduce the number of cases waiting to be heard in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many people were employed by the Tribunals Service to hear appeals in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: In April 2011, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) was created, bringing together Courts and Tribunals into one organisation.
	The total gross operational budget for the tribunal element of HMCTS for 2011-12 is £279.4 million. The allocated funding has not been assigned specifically for cases waiting to be heard but on sitting levels needed to achieve the optimum level of performance.
	In 2009-10, there was an average of 1,519 full-time equivalent tribunal panel members. In 2010-11 there was an average of 1,620 full-time equivalent tribunal panel members. The method of calculating 'Full Time Equivalent' members changed in 2010-11 and while the 2009-10 figures have been restated in line with this change, earlier figures have not been recalculated and are, therefore, not available.

Tribunals Service

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  in how many cases on appeal dealt with by the Tribunals Service decisions were overturned in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the average length of time was for which a person waited to have their case heard by the Tribunals Service in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many people waited longer than (a) six months and (b) 12 months;
	(3)  how many cases were waiting to be heard by the Tribunals Service on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: In April 2011, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) was created, bringing together Courts and Tribunals into one organisation.
	There are, including the Upper Tribunal Chambers, 35 Tribunal jurisdictions within HMCTS. The information requested for all Tribunals could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The three largest jurisdictions within HMCTS—social security and child support, immigration and asylum and employment tribunals—accounted for 93% of receipts for the business year 2010-11. Information has, therefore, been provided for these jurisdictions.
	(1) The following table shows the number of cases (or jurisdictional complaints for employment tribunals) found in favour of the appellant for the full year, 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 and for 1 April to 30 June 2011.
	
		
			 Number of successful cases: 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 and for 1 April to 30 June 2011 
			 Tribunal 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 1 April 2011 to 30 June 2011 
			 Social security and child support 96,000 (35%) 28,900 (35%) 
			 Employment tribunals (1)28,100 (12%) 6,000 (11%) 
			 Immigration and asylum (2)62,800 (41%) 13,000 (39%) 
			 (1) This is the number of employment tribunal jurisdictional claims that were disposed of and found to be successful (in favour of the claimant) at a tribunal and excludes settlements. A claim can contain a number of grounds, known as jurisdictional complaints. In any hearing, the tribunal has to decide upon the merits of the claim made under each jurisdiction. (2) Based on decisions at hearing and on the papers. 
		
	
	Employment tribunals determine disputes between employers and employees over employment rights. As party v. party tribunals, employment tribunals differ from all other administrative tribunals.
	HMCTS publishes statistical information (the latest to 30 June 2011) at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/tribunals/quarterly.htm
	In addition, details of the social security and child support tribunal's performance is also published monthly, most recently to 31 August 2011.
	(2) It has not been possible to collate the average waiting for employment tribunals and immigration and asylum cases within the time frame required for this answer. However, I will write to the hon. Member to provide the information once it has been collated.
	The average waiting time for the social security and child support (SSCS) tribunal measures the time from the receipt of the appeal in the tribunal to the time that its disposal. In August 2011, the average clearance time from receipt to disposal for all SSCS benefits combined was 24.4 weeks.
	The following table shows the percentage of cases disposed of in April to June 2011, aged more than six months and more than 12 months old(1).
	(1) This data reflects the age of the case at the time that it was disposed—the best data we have at this time to reflect “waiting” times.
	
		
			 Percentage of cases aged more than six months and 12 months 
			 Tribunal Percentage of cases disposed of aged more than six months old Percentage of cases disposed of aged more than 12 months old 
			 Social security and child support 40 5 
			    
			 Employment tribunals: 58 38 
			 singles 35 14 
			 multiples 83 65 
			    
			 Immigration and asylum 17 1 
		
	
	The measures cannot be directly compared between one tribunal and another because of different processes.
	(3) Information is not collected on the number of cases waiting to be heard. The following table shows the caseload outstanding at 30 June 2011.
	
		
			 Caseload outstanding 30 June 
			 Tribunal Caseload outstanding at 30 June 2011 
			 Social security and child support 179,700 
			 Employment tribunals 503,100 
			 Immigration and asylum 34,500 
		
	
	Approximately three-fifths of the outstanding employment tribunal caseload related to 'multiple' claims (collections of two or more of these cases are grouped and managed together). They are often legally and factually complex and at any point in time is it common for such cases to be 'stayed', meaning that they are not ready to have a final hearing at that time for some reason; for example due to awaiting the decision of an appellate court on case management or other interim matters.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff were employed by the Tribunals Service to deal with appeals against work capability assessment decisions in each month of (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Jonathan Djanogly: Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions decisions on entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) (decisions in which the work capability assessment is a key factor) rather than appeals against work capability assessment decisions themselves.
	It is not possible to identify how many staff deal specifically with ESA appeals. The following table shows the number of staff employed by the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) tribunal (the lowest level to which the figures can be broken down) as at the end of each month between January 2010 and June 2011 (the latest period for which published figures are available). The tribunal hears appeals on a range of benefits, of which ESA is one. There was an increase in headcount of 236 over the time period. Of this, 68 were permanent staff and 168 staff on fixed term contracts. HMCTS disposed of 37,200 SSCS appeals in June 2011, up 55% from 24,100 in January 2010.
	
		
			 Social Security and Child Support tribunal staff numbers January 2010   to   June 2011 
			  Number of staff  (1) 
			 January 2010 794 
			 February 2010 791 
			 March 2010 789 
			 April 2010 786 
			 May 2010 800 
			 June 2010 815 
			 July 2010 824 
			 August 2010 847 
			 September 2010 847 
			 October 2010 886 
			 November 2010 891 
			 December 2010 912 
			 January 2011 958 
			 February 2011 958 
			 March 2011 984 
			 April 2011 1,013 
			 May 2011 1,029 
			 June 2011 1,030 
			 (1) The data is taken from management information. The figures quoted refer to the total number of people employed and includes those who work part-time or on a full-time basis and on temporary or fixed-term contacts. Some of the staff included may work in multi-jurisdictional centres dealing with other work as well as social security and child support appeals.

Wormwood Scrubs: BBC

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 7 September 2011, Official Report, column 632W, on Wormwood Scrubs: BBC, what reasons have been given for the delay from the BBC and Mentron in making the payment.

Crispin Blunt: We have not sought clarification from Mentorn about the time it took for the invoice to be paid. We have received the payment in full and are satisfied with this transaction.

Youth Justice Board

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what budget he has allocated to the Youth Justice Board for (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

Crispin Blunt: The Youth Justice Board received the following amounts of grant in aid funding from the Ministry of Justice:
	(a) 2010-11: £434.17 million
	(b) 2011-12: £389.939 million
	(c) 2012-13: We have provided the YJB with an indicative allocation of £384.973 million. This figure is still under review and will not be finalised until the beginning of the financial year.
	The YJB also receives Capital Funding from the MOJ as well as funding from other Government Departments.

Youth Offending Teams

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what funding youth offending teams received in total in each year since 2007.

Crispin Blunt: Total funding to youth offending teams during each financial year since 2007 is given as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2007-08 343,430,286 
			 2008-09 361,370,945 
			 2009-10 372,071,247 
		
	
	These amounts are different from the totals given in Appendix A, Table A.2 of the published Youth Justice Statistics 2009-10. This is because grants from the YJB for Intensive Supervision and Surveillance (ISS), youth crime prevention, Re-settlement and Aftercare Provision (RAP) and Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) are not included in the total given in Table A.2.
	Total funding figures for 2010-11 have not been published yet as they are still undergoing final audit processes prior to publication (scheduled for January 2012).

TREASURY

Banks: Finance

David Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK banks which take up their full allocation of European Investment Bank funding;
	(2)  what happens to any European Investment Bank funding allocated to UK banks but left unclaimed.

Justine Greening: In accordance with its statute, the European Investment Bank (EIB) does not make a specific funding allocation to UK banks.
	Currently, four UK banks have access to EIB facilities: Barclays, Santander, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds Banking Group.

Capital Investment: Government Departments

Simon Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Oldham West and Royton of 14 June 2011, Official Report, column 701W, how many capital expenditure programmes that have not used the private finance initiative have been undertaken by each Government Department since 1997; what the total monetary value was of such programmes; and if he will place a list of such programmes in the Library.

Danny Alexander: The majority of capital spending programmes are not funded through private finance initiatives. Each Department will have a list of spending on capital projects, however HM Treasury does not hold a central list of individual capital programmes across Government. Treasury publishes twice yearly the PFI Data Summary of spend on PFI projects. Treasury does not collect information on individual non-PFI spending projects.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to improve awareness of (a) nutrition and (b) agriculture in developing countries; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: The UK is committed to long-term efforts to tackle hunger and undernutrition, as captured in our recently published strategy “Scaling Up Nutrition: the UK's position paper on undernutrition”. It sets out the steps the Department will take to comprehensively scale up its nutrition programmes over the next four years, reaching 20 million children under the age of five, in addition to humanitarian assistance.
	The Government are also working with international partners to address issues of food security. In June, G20 Agriculture Ministers agreed an action plan on food price volatility and agriculture to take forward concrete actions in this area. On the basis of the action plan and through work of international organizations—DFID has taken specific actions including; strengthening research, innovation and dissemination, mobilizing the G20 agriculture research networks and promoting efforts to scale up responsible investments and activities related to agricultural production and food security, in cooperation with the multilateral development banks and the private sector.

EDUCATION

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds were undertaking an apprenticeship in each of the last five financial years; and what proportion he expects to participate in an apprenticeship in each year to 2014-15.

John Hayes: holding answer 10 October 2011
	The following table sets out the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds undertaking apprenticeships using academic years. Figures are not available by financial year. Plans beyond 2011/12 are subject to review and are not yet available.
	
		
			 Participation rates for 16-18-year-olds on apprenticeships, England 
			  Academic years 
			  2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 (provisional) 2011/12 (projection) 
			 All 16-18 Apprenticeships (%) 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.1 5.6 6.8 
			 Population 2,013,000 2,018,300 2,023,600 1,992,000 1,947,700 1,905,400 
			 Notes: 1. Age is age at the beginning of the academic year, i.e. 31 August. 2. Percentages are based on a snapshot count of what people were participating in at the end of the calendar year, i.e. 2010/11 is based on end 2010 snapshot estimate. 3. Population estimates for academic year ages are derived by DFE from mid-year estimates and projections provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Government Actuary's Department (GAD). 4. 2011/12 snapshot of projections have been derived from the whole year learner volumes publishes in the 2011-12 16-19 Funding Statement (December 2010) and are currently being reviewed as part of the work for the 2012-13 16-19 Funding Statement which is due to be published in November 2011. 5. Forecasted volume will change as more current data and analysts becomes available.

Departmental Legal Opinion

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average hourly rate paid was to external (a) solicitors and (b) barristers engaged by his Department in 2010-11; what guidance his Department uses in commissioning external legal advice; and if he will publish (i) the names of each external (A) solicitor and (B) barrister engaged by his Department in 2010-11 and (ii) the sums paid in each case.

Tim Loughton: The Department does not keep a central record of hourly rates paid to external solicitors and cannot therefore provide average hourly rates.
	Where possible, the Department instructs barristers from the Attorney-General's panel of Counsel. Details of barristers who are currently on the panel are available from the Treasury Solicitor's Department website at:
	www.tsol.gov.uk/attorney_generals_panel_of_counsel.htm
	The Attorney-General's panel of Counsel is made up of three London panels which are divided according to experience, as well as a regional panel. The maximum rates paid to barristers on the panels are:
	A panel: £120 per hour
	B panel: £100 per hour
	C panel: £80 per hour
	Regional panel: £60 to £110 per hour (depending on experience)
	For particularly complex and sensitive matters, the Department instructs First Treasury Counsel. The hourly rate paid to First Treasury Counsel is £220.
	The Department is required to seek a nomination from the Attorney-General when it retains leading Counsel. Fees in these cases are individually agreed.
	When commissioning external legal advice, the Department uses its internal guidance on the procurement of consultancy services.
	For non-contentious matters, the Department instructs solicitors' firms selected from a panel. This panel has been established under a framework agreement to provide legal services to Government bodies and is managed by the Government Procurement Service (formerly known as Buying Solutions). Between the beginning of April 2010 and the end of March 2011, the following sums were paid to panel firms:
	
		
			  £ 
			 Bevan Brittan 989.00 
			 Bird and Bird 12,207.00 
			 Davitt Jones Bould 1,500.60 
			 DLA Piper UK LLP 252,782.70 
			 Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP 62,369.75 
			 Michelmores LLP 70,525.23 
			 Pinsent Masons 174,850.60 
		
	
	The Department does not keep a separate record of the names of external barristers instructed or sums paid. Extracting this information for the period 2010-11 from the Department's central payments system could be done only at disproportionate cost.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what representations his Department has received from directorates of the European Commission on the UK's carbon floor price.

Gregory Barker: We are continuing to engage informally with the European Commission as part of our overall policy development related to the Electricity Market Reform proposal.
	The EU and the UK share common energy policy objectives. We consider that the approach being adopted under the GB Electricity Market Reform is consistent with the EU's vision for decarbonisation and security of supply. We support full integration of the UK energy market with the wider EU electricity market. We are working with the European Commission and other EU stakeholders to ensure that the Electricity Market Reform package is consistent with, and complementary to, developing EU energy policy.
	As set out in chapter 2 of the Government's Electricity Market Reform White Paper, the CPF complements the EU ETS by strengthening the carbon price signal in the UK electricity generation sector, enabling higher levels of investment in low-carbon infrastructure and therefore a faster rate of decarbonisation. Going forward, we would support an EU-wide tightening of the EU ETS in order to meet ambitious carbon emission reduction targets in the EU, and to meet the long-term EU objective of reducing emissions by 80% to 95% by 2050.

Carbon Emissions: Shipping

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress he has made on negotiations to apply a carbon price to international shipping emissions.

Gregory Barker: The UK Government believe that a global emissions trading system that places a price on carbon would be the best way of reducing international shipping emissions effectively and efficiently. We continue to push for progress towards this goal in the International Maritime Organization.
	Last year, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), played an active role in the UN Secretary-General's High Level Group on Climate Financing (AGF), which found that applying a carbon price to the international shipping sector could provide a feasible source of climate financing. The UK has been pushing for progress on agreeing these recommendations through the EU, UNFCCC and the G20.

Electricity Generation

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what representations he has received from the European Commission on electricity market reform.

Charles Hendry: We are continuing to engage informally with the European Commission as part of our overall policy development of the electricity market reform proposals.

Energy Supply: Prices

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how he plans to consult energy-intensive industries prior to the announcement of measures to mitigate the effects on them of introducing carbon price support.

Gregory Barker: My officials and I are in regular contact with a wide range of energy intensive industries on a bilateral and multi-lateral basis. I visited Germany on 26 and 27 September in the company of UK chief executives to see firsthand how German-based energy intensive industries were operating and to learn how the German Government encourages greater energy efficiency from their energy intensive industries. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), meets energy intensive and other UK industry in the Green Economy Council meetings which he co-chairs with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman).
	My officials have met and continue to meet industry both individually and in wider fora. The principal forum for discussing the development of the package of measures to reduce the effects of Government policy on electricity costs for energy-intensive manufacturers whose international competitiveness is most affected by UK energy and climate change policy is the Green Economy Council Energy Intensive Industries sub-group. This comprises representatives of industry, trade associations, trade unions and includes officials from DECC, the Department of Business Innovation and Skills and HM Treasury. The Government plan to announce the details of the package before the end of the year.

Feed-in Tariffs

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many community installations accredited for the feed-in-tariff scheme are (a) above and (b) below 50KW.

Gregory Barker: At the end of June 2011 there were 494 community installations confirmed onto the Feed-in-Tariffs (FiTs) scheme. Table 1 splits these out into schemes of above and below 50 kilowatts in generation capacity.
	
		
			 Table 1: Numbers of community FiTs installations by technology and size 
			 Technology 50kW and under Over 50kW 
			 Hydro 13 1 
			 Photovoltaic 377 0 
			 Wind 100 3 
			 Total 490 4 
		
	
	Since the end of June a further 80 community schemes have been confirmed onto the FiTs scheme. It will be possible to break these down by installed capacity following the publication of the quarterly FiTs statistical publication on 27 October 2011.

Fuel Poverty

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number of people aged over 60 in fuel poverty in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Dudley Borough.

Gregory Barker: The most recent fuel poverty data available for England and the West Midlands is for the year 2009. The most recent local authority level data available is for 2008. Data on fuel poverty is presented in terms of the number of households affected. The data shows that:
	In 2009, nearly two million households containing someone aged over 60 in England were in fuel poverty. This represents 27% of all households containing someone over 60 in England.
	In 2009, 0.3 million households containing someone aged over 60 in the West Midlands were in fuel poverty. This represents 37% of all households containing someone over 60 in the West Midlands.
	In 2008, around 26,000 households in the local authority of Dudley were in fuel poverty. This represents 25% of all households in Dudley. Data on fuel poverty amongst over 60s in Dudley is not available.

Oil

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what consideration his further review of regulatory procedures of the UK oil and gas industry will give to the oil leak from Shell's Gannet Alpha platform.

Charles Hendry: Prompted by the Gulf of Mexico spill last year, the principal focus of the further review of UK oil and gas regulation is around drilling operations, which were not, of course, germane to the Gannet event. Given the ongoing nature of the joint DECC/HSE investigation into Gannet, the regulatory review has not examined the matter in detail and would not, therefore, be in a position to offer detailed observations.

Renewable Energy: Finance

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the annual average (a) proportion and (b) cash amount by which the energy bills of domestic consumers are increased in order to finance and subsidise the provision of renewable energy.

Charles Hendry: DECC's last published assessment in July 2010, available online at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/about/ec_social_res/analytic_projs/price_bill_imp/price_bill_imp.aspx
	estimated that the renewables obligation and feed-in-tariff scheme were adding £21 (2%) in total to the average household energy (gas plus electricity) bill in 2010 and this was estimated to increase to £51 (5%) in 2015 and £105 (9%) in 2020 (all in real 2009 prices).
	As explained in the July document, these estimates do not take account of the potential offsetting impact from higher levels of renewables pushing down wholesale electricity prices, which previous modelling by Redpoint for DECC suggested could be around £6/MWh on average over the period 2010-20. They also do not take account of changes to energy and climate change policies announced since July 2010.
	An updated assessment of the impact of energy and climate change policies on the energy bills faced by households and businesses will be published alongside the next annual energy statement.

Renewables Obligation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made on the Renewables Obligation Certificate banding review; and when he expects his proposed consultation as part of that review to commence.

Gregory Barker: The first phase of the banding review on renewables costs and deployment potential conducted by DECC for Arup and Ernst and Young has now been completed and the report published on the DECC website. We intend to publish a consultation on the proposed new bands shortly.
	The new bands will come into effect on 1 April 2013 (1 April 2014 for offshore wind).

Water Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether marine energy projects will be eligible to receive support through his proposed feed-in tariff with contract for difference.

Gregory Barker: The CfD is being designed to be compatible with all forms of low-carbon generation including marine.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Laws: Regulations

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which laws and regulations have been repealed since May 2010.

Mark Harper: In the policy areas for which the Deputy Prime Minister has direct responsibility, the Government have brought forward important constitutional and political reforms which have made a number of changes to the statute book. This includes the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 which repealed the Septennial Act 1715.

Recall of Members of Parliament

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2011, Official Report, column 623W, on Recall of Members of Parliament, whether he expects to publish his proposals for recall of hon. Members by their constituents before the Christmas recess.

Mark Harper: Yes.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Anti-Slavery Day

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2011.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions has no plans to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2011.

Computers

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many laptops were lost by staff of his Department in each of the last five years; and what penalties were imposed on those staff members as a result of the losses.

Chris Grayling: The following table shows the numbers of laptop computers recorded by the Department as having been lost (or stolen) for the calendar years in question.
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010 40 
			 2009 30 
			 2008 41 
			 2007 15 
			 2006 28 
		
	
	The Department requires that all its laptop computers are encrypted according to standards prescribed by the central security authorities. Therefore in the event of theft or loss of a laptop computer, the information contained on the hard drive is secure.
	The Department formally requires its employees to safeguard all valuable assets, and local management will take firm action where an employee neglects such responsibilities. This type of disciplinary incident is recorded centrally under a broad heading and it is not possible to further break the figures down to identify what action was actually taken in specific cases where employees lost laptops. To attempt to obtain this level of detail would incur disproportionate cost.

Crisis Loans

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 6 September 2011, Official Report, column 462W, on crisis loans, how much has been repaid against crisis loans made in each year; and after what period outstanding loans are written off.

Steve Webb: The following table shows how much has been repaid against crisis loans made in each year.
	
		
			  Amount repaid against crisis loans (£ million) 
			 2008-09 83.10 
			 2009-10 119.4 
			 2010-11 123.7 
			 Notes: 1. The figures are from the annual report by the Secretary of State on the social fund for the relevant year. 2. Examples of when a debt might be written off because there is no prospect of recovery are: deceased and no estate to recover from gone abroad long-term custodial sentence certain insolvency cases 
		
	
	The social fund does not have a time limit for writing off debt. Unless there is no prospect of recovery, the right to recover social fund loans continues to be exercised until the debt is repaid.

Departmental Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress his Department has made in eliminating pre-qualification questionnaires for procurements with a value of under £100,000.

Chris Grayling: The official DWP commercial policy is that pre-qualification questionnaires are not required for requirements under £100,000.

Disability Living Allowance: Care Homes

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people living in residential care homes in each local authority claim the mobility component of disability living allowance.

Maria Miller: Reliable estimates of total disability living allowance claimants in residential care homes are not available as we are unable to identify accurately disability living allowance claimants who meet the full cost of their residential care.
	Estimates of the numbers of mobility component recipients in residential care homes, who are not fully self-funding, are not available other than on a Government Office region wide basis. The information is contained in the following table.
	
		
			 Non self-funded DLA mobility component recipients in residential care 
			  Number 
			 North East 4,000 
			 North West 8,000 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 7,000 
			 East Midlands 6,000 
			 West Midlands 7,000 
			 East of England 7,000 
			 London 8,000 
			 South East 13,000 
			 South West 9,000 
			 Wales 4,000 
			 Scotland 6,000 
			 Notes: 1. Caseloads are rounded to nearest thousand individuals. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, Feb 2011

Disability Premium: Glasgow

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children in (a) Glasgow and (b) Scotland are currently in receipt of the (i) disability premium and (ii) enhanced disability premium.

Maria Miller: The information requested is available only in respect of income support and jobseeker's allowance.
	
		
			 Income support/jobseeker's allowance claimants with disabled child premium/enhanced disabled child premium in Glasgow local authority and Scotland—February 2011 
			  Glasgow local authority Scotland 
			 Income support:   
			 Disabled child premium 600 2,400 
			 Enhanced disabled child premium (1)300 1,000 
			    
			 Jobseeker’s allowance:   
			 Disabled child premium (2)— (2)— 
			 Enhanced disabled child premium (2)— (2)— 
			 (1) Figures of 500 or less are subject to a degree of sampling variation and therefore should be used as a guide only to the correct situation. (2) Nil or negligible. Notes: 1. Figures have been uprated using 5% proportions against 100% WPLS totals. 2. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. 3. Figures exclude residual minimum income guarantee claimants. Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) Information Directorate, 5% samples.

Employment and Support Allowance

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will review the amount of any personal or occupational pension that is disregarded for the purpose of calculating the amount of money received through contributory employment and support allowance payments.

Steve Webb: The Secretary of State reviews the level of the deductions from employment and support allowance for occupational and personal pension income as part of the annual uprating exercise.

Employment and Support Allowance

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to his Department of writing to all contributory employment and support allowance claimants in the support group to inform them of the entitlement changes to their benefit.

Chris Grayling: The Department took a decision to write to claimants who may be affected by proposals in the welfare reform bill to limit the time people can claim contribution based employment and support allowance in the Work Related Activity Group to 12 months. To deliver this letter, DWP recently undertook a scan of its computer records to identify all claimants that are in receipt of contribution-based ESA in the Work Related Activity Group with a view to writing to them. This included all those already in this category on the day the scan was run and those for whom a decision to place in the Work Related Activity Group had been made and input to the IT system with a future start date.
	This scan did not identify claimants in the support group, as they will not be affected by the change. As we did not write to this group, no costs were incurred in writing to claimants receiving contribution based employment and support allowance in the Support Group.

Employment and Support Allowance

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether he carried out an impact assessment of his proposal not to allow access to employment and support allowance during an appeal period; and what account such an impact assessment took of the potential effect on claimants' health and ability to improve their capacity for work of such a policy;
	(2)  how many employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants have had no access to ESA while appealing a decision to end their ESA payments due to a failure to (a) return the work capability questionnaire and (b) attend an ATOS medical assessment for whatever reason since its inception;
	(3)  if he will make it his policy to provide some financial support to claimants who have no access to employment and support allowance while appealing a decision to refuse it.

Chris Grayling: The current policy is that where an ESA recipient who is found fit for work following a work capability assessment (WCA) subsequently appeals against the decision, they will receive the assessment phase rate of ESA during the appeals process. Therefore, the amount of money the person receives will not change.
	Those ESA claimants who appeal the WCA outcome of being placed in the Work Related Activity Group will continue to receive basic-rate ESA plus the work-related activity component until the outcome of the appeal is known.
	Where a claimant fails to attend a WCA appointment, benefit entitlement is not automatically withdrawn by a decision maker. It is recognised that there can be genuine reasons for non-attendance, particularly when a claimant's medical condition fluctuates daily to such an extent that it prevents attendance. To identify when such circumstances may apply, a number of provisions and safeguards have been built into the current process.
	These provisions ensure decision makers give full consideration to each claimant's particular circumstances before deciding whether benefit entitlement is affected. It is only when a Decision Maker decides a claimant has not shown "good cause" for not attending that entitlement is changed.
	Where ESA is disallowed for failing to return the WCA questionnaire or attend for medical examination, ESA is not available pending the outcome of an appeal. This avoids the risk of abuse. If benefit were available in this situation it could be paid indefinitely to people who repeatedly fail to comply. As such, benefit is payable only when the questionnaire is completed and returned or the person attends for examination.
	This is different to the situation where a person appeals because they do not agree with a determination, for benefit entitlement purpose's, that they do not have limited capability for work. ESA is available in these cases in recognition that people who disagree with the decision that they do not have limited capability for work would not necessarily wish to work, or present themselves as well enough to work, until their appeal had been decided.
	The Department does not collect information in respect of the number of ESA claimants whose benefit has ceased as a result of a failure to attend a WCA or return their medical questionnaire.

Employment and Support Allowance: Brighton

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of applications for employment and support allowance made by residents in Brighton and Hove unitary authority area were rejected on the basis of a work capability assessment (a) between October 2008 and November 2010 and (b) in the latest period which figures are available; and what proportion of such decisions were (i) reversed and (ii) upheld on appeal.

Chris Grayling: Decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) using the work capability assessment rest solely with the Department's decision makers taking into account the medical assessment reports from Atos and any other relevant information.
	Table 1 presents data for new ESA claims starting between October 2008 to November 2010 (this is the latest period for which these figures are available) where the claimant has been assessed to be fit for work. Figures are for initial assessments only and numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	
		
			 Table 1: Fit for work decisions on new ESA claims 
			  Fit for work Percentage of all new ESA claims  (1) 
			 Brighton and Hove UA 1,920 32 
			 (1) Includes claims that are closed before assessment and those still in progress. 
		
	
	If someone is assessed to be fit for work by DWP they are no longer entitled to claim ESA. However, they may ask for a revision and/or they may appeal against the DWP decision.
	Table 2 shows appeals heard on fit for work decisions for ESA claims starting between October 2008 and May 2010 (this is the latest period for which these figures are available). Figures are for initial assessments only and numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10 (as a result, summing of rows may not give the totals shown).
	
		
			 Table 2: Appeals heard on fit for work decisions 
			  Appeals heard Decision in favour of appellant Percentage decision in favour of appellant DWP decision upheld Percentage DWP decision upheld 
			 Brighton and Hove UA 740 420 56 330 44 
			 Notes: 1. The Department regularly publishes official statistics on the employment and support allowance (ESA) work capability assessment at the national level. The latest report, published in July 2011, covers new claimants to ESA for October 2008 to November 2010 (the latest data available) and can be found at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca 2. The data presented above come from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions, functional assessment data from Atos Healthcare and appeals data from the Tribunals Service. 3. Data on appeal includes ESA claims up to the end of May 2010 (the latest month where we have sufficient volumes of appeals heard to include in the publication) where the person claiming has been assessed to be fit for work, they subsequently appeal the Department's decision and the appeal has been heard by Tribunals Service. 4. Due to the time it takes for appeals to be submitted to the Tribunals Service and heard, it is likely that there are more appeals that have not yet been heard. Therefore these figures should be treated as emerging findings rather than final at this stage.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of claimants who will qualify for his planned mandatory work activity scheme.

Chris Grayling: We envisage that mandatory work activity (MWA) will deliver around 19,000 placements per year over the next four years, The scheme is intended to target the small number of JSA claimants who do enough to meet the conditions of their claim while at the same time continually failing to demonstrate the focus and discipline that is a key requirement of finding, securing and retaining employment.

Employment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sanctions were issued as a result of a claimant refusing an offer made under the Young Person's Guarantee between April 2010 and March 2011.

Chris Grayling: The number of sanctions issued as a result of a claimant refusing an offer made under the Community Task Force (CTF), the mandatory strand of the Young Person's Guarantee, between April 2010 and March 2011 was 5,190(1).
	From 26 April 2010 all eligible young people were required to take up an offer under the Young Person's Guarantee by the 10 month point of their claim. If they did not take up an offer they were required to take part in the Community Task Force. If they did not take part in this their benefits could be affected. This explains why we have only counted sanctions issued on refusing offers made under the Community Task Force.
	(1) Source—DWP Information Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database.

Housing Benefit

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to allow local authorities to transfer unspent central Government funding provided for the annual allowance for discretionary housing payments into the subsequent financial year.

Steve Webb: Local authorities were advised in September that any requests to carry forward into 2012/13 funding for discretionary housing payments would be considered, providing they were made by 30 April 2012 when their 2011/12 discretionary housing payments claims were made.

Industrial Health and Safety: Construction

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2011, Official Report, columns 1173-4W, on industrial health and safety: construction, in what employment sectors each of the duty-holders prosecuted for health and safety offences in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11 operated.

Chris Grayling: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart), on 11 October 2011, Official Report, columns 349-50W.

Jobcentre Plus: Telephone Calls

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what requirements his Department sets in respect of telephone answering timescales; and what proportion of telephone calls breached these requirements in (a) local Jobcentre Plus offices and (b) national customer services in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The Department operates several national customer service lines that carry different targets relating to average speed of answer, and not all of them collate the same amount of information. We have supplied the Percentage of Calls Answered (PCA); the Average Speed of Answer (ASA). Where the data is available, but for some lines only, we have also supplied the percentage of calls answered in 30 seconds.
	In addition to the customer service lines for making a claim to benefit or for jobsearch, Jobcentre Plus also operates a switchboard for claimants to contact their local Jobcentre Plus office. This is operated by Balfour Beatty Workplace (BBW) on behalf of the Department. The information that you have requested is not available because BBW does not collate that information.
	Jobcentre Plus Lines
	The performance measure used is the PCA and the minimum target is to answer 90% of offered calls. This is for all lines except Crisis Loan Decision Making and UK Border Agency where the PCA target is 80% for both.
	Please note that the figures for Jobcentre Plus are for August.
	First Contact
	Of 429,266 calls offered, 392,797 were answered giving a PCA of 91.7%. The ASA was 00:01:46.
	Employment Support Allowance
	Of 120,653 calls offered, 110,638 were answered giving a PCA of 92.0%. The ASA was 00:01:51.
	Crisis Loan Decision Making
	Of 513,463 calls offered, 423,486 were answered giving a PCA of 82.7%. The ASA was 00:08:07.
	Jobseekers Allowance Enquiries (JSA)
	Of 814,068 calls offered, 664,898 were answered giving a PCA of 82.0%. The ASA was 00:04:04.
	Income Support Enquiries (IS)
	Of 458,010 calls offered, 369,338 were answered giving a PCA of 81.3%. The ASA was 00:03:16.
	Incapacity Benefit Enquiries (IB)
	Of 117,042 calls offered, 105,728 were answered giving a PCA of 90.7%. The ASA was 00:01:02.
	JSA, IS and IB Welsh
	Of 219 calls offered, 217 were answered giving a PCA of 99.5%. The ASA was 00:00:01.
	Employment Support Allowance Enquiries (ESA)
	Of 547,932 calls offered, 448,488 were answered giving a PCA of 82.2%. The ASA was 00:04:49.
	IB/IS Reassessment
	Of 22,601 calls offered, 20,603 were answered giving a PCA of 91.5%. The ASA was 00:01:36.
	ESA Enquiries and IB/IS Reassessment Welsh
	Of 128 calls offered, 125 were answered giving a PCA of 97.7%. The ASA was 00:00:05.
	Enquire
	Of 171,852 calls offered, 161,436 were answered giving a PCA of 94.2%. The ASA was 00:01:01.
	Social Fund
	Of 346,301 calls offered, 311,828 were answered giving a PCA of 90.4%. The ASA was 00:01:50.
	Maternity Allowance
	Of 19,685 calls offered, 18,508 were answered giving a PCA of 94.4%. The ASA was 00:00:38.
	Maternity Allowance and Social Fund Welsh
	Of 60 calls offered, 59 were answered giving a PCA of 98.3%. The ASA was 00:00:01
	Social Fund Applications
	Of 75,574 calls offered, 67,391 were answered giving a PCA of 89.5%. The ASA was 00:01:41.
	Jobseeker Direct
	Of 252,965 calls offered, 229,293 were answered giving a PCA of 90.7%. The ASA was 00:00:40.
	Employer Direct
	Of 68,002 calls offered, 59,757 were answered giving a PCA of 88.1%. The ASA was 00:01:35.
	E-Business Operational Support Team (EBOST)
	Of 3,444 calls offered, 3,351 were answered giving a PCA of 97.4%. The ASA was 00:00:18.
	Small Business Recruitment Helpline
	Of 2,485 calls offered, 1,953 were answered giving a PCA of 79.7%. The ASA was 00:01:44.
	National Insurance Number Allocations (NINO)
	Of 87,896 calls offered, 80,769 were answered giving a PCA of 91.9%. The ASA was 00:00:32.
	National Benefit Fraud Hotline
	Of 19,189 calls offered, 17,208 were answered giving a PCA of 90.1%. The ASA was 00:00:48.
	Self Service Helpline
	Of 324 calls offered, 314 were answered giving a PCA of 96.9%. The ASA was 00:00:12.
	Tax Evasion Hotline
	Of 4,180 calls offered, 3,671 were answered giving a PCA of 88.4%. The ASA was 00:01:11.
	International Jobsearch Advice Line
	Of 18 calls offered, 17 were answered giving a PCA of 100.0%. (Please note that as no calls were abandoned, and as all calls got through and were answered there would have been a Short Abandoned call ie the caller hanging up after getting through). The ASA was 00:01:21.
	Local Authority Fraud Hotline
	Of 484 calls offered, 420 were answered giving a PCA of 87.9%. The ASA was 00:00:44.
	UK Border Agency
	Of 17,096 calls offered, 14,482 were answered giving a PCA of 84.9%. The ASA was 00:02:16.
	Jobcentre Plus Total
	Of 4,092,937 calls offered, 3,506,775 were answered giving a PCA of 86.0%. The ASA was 00:03:21.
	Disability Living Allowance Lines (DLA)
	The performance measure used is the PCA and the minimum target is to answer 93% of offered calls. We do not have a target for speed of answer, but do capture average speed of answer and percentage of answered in 30 seconds for all our service lines.
	Please note the figures are for September.
	Benefit Enquiry Line
	Of 59,694 calls offered, 56,066 were answered giving a PCA of 93.9%. The ASA was 00:01:00. Of the ones answered 40.1% were answered within 30 seconds.
	DLA Attendance Allowance 3rd Party Reps (AA)
	Of 11,101 calls offered, 11,037 were answered giving a PCA of 99.4%, The ASA was 00:00:09. Of the ones answered 95.2% were answered within 30 seconds.
	DLA AA DWP
	Of 2,472 calls offered, 2,386 were answered giving a PCA of 96.5%. The ASA was 00:00:48. Of the ones answered 42.5% were answered within 30 seconds.
	DLA AA Helpline—Changes of Circumstances
	Of 58,561 calls offered, 55,792 were answered giving a PCA of 95.3%. The ASA was 00:01:24. Of the ones answered 34.1 % were answered within 30 seconds.
	DLA AA H elpline— Claim Pack
	Of 48,894 calls offered, 45,467 were answered giving a PCA of 93.0%. The ASA was 00:01:21. Of the ones answered 31.8% were answered within 30 seconds.
	DLA AA Helpline—Enquiries
	Of 245,966 calls offered, 232,592 were answered giving a PCA of 94.6%. The ASA was 00:01:35. Of the ones answered 30.1% were answered within 30 seconds.
	DLA AA Helpline—Explanations
	Of 22,430 calls offered, 21,930 were answered giving a PCA of 97.8%. The ASA was 00:00:53. Of the ones answered 39.6% were answered within 30 seconds.
	DLA AA Motability
	Of 2,184 calls offered, 2,065 were answered giving a PCA of 94.6%. The ASA was 00:00:52. Of the ones answered 39.7% were answered within 30 seconds.
	Totals for the above
	Of 451,302 calls offered, 427,335 giving a PCA of 94.7%. The ASA was 00:01:22. Of the ones answered 34.3% were answered within 30 seconds.
	Carer's Allowance Unit Lines (CAU)
	The performance measure used is the PCA and the minimum target is to answer 93% of offered calls.
	Please note the figures are for September.
	CAU Contact Centre
	Of 79,953 calls offered, 75,407 were answered giving a PCA of 94.3%. The ASA was 00:01:27. Of the ones answered 40.6% were answered within 30 seconds.
	Pension Centre Lines
	The performance measure used for all service lines is PCA and the minimum target is to answer 93% of offered calls. We do not have a target for ASA although it is measured and reported.
	Figures are for September.
	State Pension Claims
	Of 85,218 calls offered, 79,926 were answered giving a PCA of 93.8%. The ASA was 00:00:58.
	Pension Credit Claims
	Of 84,145 calls offered, 79,753 were answered giving a PCA of 94.8%. The ASA was 00:00:37.
	State Pension Changes
	Of 180,386 calls offered, 170,487 were answered giving a PCA of 94.5%. The ASA was 00:00:47.
	Pension Credit Changes
	Of 188,982 calls offered, 178,134 were answered giving a PCA of 94.3%. The ASA was 00:00:39.
	Bereavement Service
	Of 56,354 calls offered, 53,876 were answered giving a PCA of 95.6%. The ASA was 00:00:32
	Non Regional Pension Centres
	Of 131,209 calls offered, 127,373 were answered giving a PCA of 97.1%. The ASA was 00:00:23.
	Totals for the above
	Of 726,294 calls offered, 689,549 were answered giving a PCA of 94.9%. The ASA was 00:00:39.

Jobcentre Plus: Telephone Calls

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will give the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association and its local offices the same level of telephone and email access to his Department and its associated public bodies as other voluntary agencies which assist people with welfare and benefit issues.

Chris Grayling: DWP works closely with many organisations which provide support to vulnerable people. We would be happy to work with the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association to assist our service personnel with employment, welfare and benefit issues. Guidance to our staff on disclosing information to voluntary organisations that work with our claimants is contained in our ‘Working with Representatives’ guidance on the DWP website. This guidance applies equally to staff of SSAFA as any other advice organisation.

Pension Credit

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to enable the automatic payment of pension credit; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Department for Work and Pensions has been carrying out a study to assess how information routinely collected might be used to ensure that pensioners get the help that is available through pension credit.
	Estimated awards of pension credit were paid to a sample of around 2,000 pensioners who, based on the information already held, appeared to be entitled to but not receiving pension credit. These payments were made without the normal prerequisite for a claim, and lasted for a period of 12 weeks.
	The delivery phase of the study ran from 15 November 2010 to 18 March 2011 and evaluation is now underway. Early findings from the study will be published in the week commencing 31 October 2011.
	A full report will be published early in 2012.

Social Security Benefits: Polygamy

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claims were rejected due to the polygamous nature of the applicant's marriage in each of the last three years.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Polygamy

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to what extent polygamous families are recognised in the benefits system; which benefits and credits may be claimed by such families; and if he will estimate the (a) total financial cost and (b) number of recipients of payment of such benefits in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: For income-replacement benefits such as income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance and income-related employment and support allowance, the husband and first wife claim as a couple. Subsequent wives receive an additional sum which is less than the single person rate. These benefits are only payable for wives residing in Great Britain.
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit entitlement for polygamous families is limited to those living in one property. There are no special rules for a husband to claim housing benefit for more than one property if his wives live separately.
	The claimant may claim benefit/tax credits (depending on claim date) for any child or young person for whom he or a partner of his is responsible and who is a member of the same household.
	Contributory benefits make no provision for polygamous marriages. Where a man dies leaving two widows, neither gets bereavement benefit. If at the time of his death he leaves a single widow, she could qualify for bereavement benefit.
	A member of a polygamous marriage can claim a contributory or income-related benefit in their own right where they satisfy the relevant conditions of entitlement.
	Information regarding the cost and number of polygamous households is not available.
	However, the current Government have decided to no longer recognise polygamous marriages and there are measures in the Welfare Reform Bill which will bring this change in policy into effect under universal credit as from 2013.

State Retirement Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the changes which would be needed to the state pension age to maintain the average proportion of adult life spent in receipt of a state pension at the same proportion as in (a) 1980, (b) 2005 and (c) 2011.

Steve Webb: The information requested is as is as follows:
	(a) The average proportion of male adult life in retirement for people reaching state pension age in 1981 was 23.7%. Maintaining this proportion overtime would suggest the following state pension age timetable:
	
		
			 Age Year 
			 66 1985 
			 67 1992 
			 68 1996 
			 69 2000 
			 70 2004 
			 71 2011 
			 72 2015 
			 73 2027 
			 74 2041 
			 75 2055 
		
	
	(b) The average proportion of male adult life in retirement for people reaching state pension age in 2005 was 31.3%. Maintaining this proportion overtime would suggest the following state pension age timetable:
	
		
			 Age Year 
			 66 2014 
			 67 2027 
			 68 2042 
			 69 2057 
		
	
	(c) The average proportion of male adult life in retirement for people reaching state pension age in 2011 was 32.2%. Maintaining this proportion over time would suggest the following state pension age timetable:
	
		
			 Age Year 
			 66 2022 
			 67 2037 
			 68 2053 
		
	
	
		
			 Notes: 1. Estimates are based upon projections of UK male period life expectancy from the Office for National Statistics 2008-based projections. Life expectancy projections actually available in 1981 and 2005 are likely to differ and produce a lower proportion of adult life in retirement due to revisions made to the projections in subsequent years. 2. Estimates on a consistent basis are not available for 1980, 1981 has been used instead as the closest available year. Projections are available to 2058. 3. State pension age is increased when the proportion of male adult life in retirement for that age meets the proportion taken from the specific start year, people retiring between dates will have a higher proportion of adult life spent in retirement. 4. No assumptions are made about provision of sufficient notice for a future state pension age change, nor the necessary legislative timetable. 5. Adult life is defined as age 20 to state pension age, life in retirement is defined as mean life expectancy at state pension age.

State Retirement Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the savings to the Exchequer which would arise from bringing forward the proposed increase in the state pension age to 67 years to (a) 2026, (b) 2030 and (c) 2032.

Steve Webb: Increasing the state pension age to 67 by:
	(a) 2026 would produce estimated savings in DWP benefit spend of £70.4 billion between 2024/25 and 2035/36;
	(b) 2030 would produce estimated savings in DWP benefit spend of £46.2 billion between 2028/29 and 2035/36;
	(c) 2032 would produce estimated savings in DWP benefit spend of £32.0 billion between 2030/31 and 2035/36.
	All estimates are in 2011/12 price terms and rounded to the nearest £100 million.
	Notes:
	1. The savings estimates presented are calculated in line with the methodology used to prepare the estimates of DWP AME savings published in the impact assessment presented with the Pensions Bill 2011. They take into account lower spending on pensioner benefits and higher spending on working age benefits and incorporate changes to long term assumptions following the publication of the Office of Budget Responsibility's July 2011 Fiscal Sustainability report.
	2. The estimates are based on the current welfare system. Reliance on income-related pension benefits and working age benefits is assumed to remain in line, with current age-specific rates of reliance.
	3. A baseline of the state pension age reaching 66 by April 2020 is assumed with an increase to 67 between 2024 and 2026. The brought forward increases to 67 occur over a two-year period.

State Retirement Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer which would arise from capping the increase in the state pension age for an individual to a maximum of (a) 18 months, (b) 15 months and (c) 12 months.

Steve Webb: The following estimates assume that the timetable proposed in the Pensions Bill 2011 is applied until the relevant cap comes into force. The cap is applied until it is either no longer relevant, as the Pensions Bill timetable implies an increase lower than the cap, or a state pension age of 66 is reached.
	(a) The cost of capping the increase in state pension age to a maximum of 18 months compared to the change in spend from the current Pensions Bill proposal is estimated at £1.1 billion between 2019-20 and 2020-21.
	(b) The cost of capping the increase in state pension age to a maximum of 15 months compared to the change in spend from the current Pensions Bill proposal is estimated at £2.4 billion between 2018-19 and 2020-21.
	(c) The cost of capping the increase in state pension age to a maximum of 12 months compared to the change in spend from the current Pensions Bill proposal is estimated at £4.3 billion between 2018-19 and 2020-21.
	Notes
	1. The savings estimates presented are calculated in line with the methodology used to prepare the estimates of DWP AME savings published in the impact assessment presented with the Pensions Bill 2011. They take into account lower spending on pensioner benefits and higher spending on working age benefits and incorporate changes to long-term assumptions following the publication of the Office of Budget Responsibility's July 2011 Fiscal Sustainability report.
	2. The estimates are based on the current welfare system. Reliance on income-related pension benefits and working age benefits is assumed to remain in line with current age-specific rates of reliance.
	3. A baseline of the state pension age reaching 66 by April 2020 is assumed in line with the proposals set out in the Pensions Bill 2011.

State Retirement Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely effect of auto-enrolment on the amount spent on pensions tax relief in each income decile in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, (c) 2014, (d) 2015 and (e) 2016.

Steve Webb: The Department's estimate of the impact of tax relief on individual's pension contributions arising from automatic enrolment in each year between 2012-13 and 2016-17 is shown in Table 1. Information on the impact by income decile is not available.
	
		
			 Table 1: Estimated additional tax relief on employee pension contributions arising from automatic enrolment between 2012-13 and 2016-17 
			  Estimated cost of tax relief (£ million) 
			 2012-13 5 
			 2013-14 64 
			 2014-15 138 
			 2015-16 183 
			 2016-17 489 
			 Notes: 1. Estimates are derived from DWP modelling. 2. Estimates are expressed in 2011-12 levels and are rounded to the nearest £1 million.

Unemployment Benefits

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate has been made of the number of (a) non-EEA nationals, (b) EEA nationals and (c) UK nationals claiming out-of-work benefits in each of the last five years.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.
	The UK's benefit payment systems do not record the nationality of people receiving benefits and therefore it is not possible to determine the number of claimants of each nationality. I have, however, commissioned work to make information available on the nationality of benefit claimants.
	Access to income-related benefits(1) by non-European Economic Area nationals is strictly limited. They are excluded from such benefits because they are subject to immigration control, which prevents them from receiving public funds. Access to these benefits is therefore dependent on the type of leave the Home Office grants the individual.
	Those who have worked in the UK and paid national insurance contributions may claim contributory benefits such as contribution-based jobseeker's allowance if they satisfy the contributions and other conditions for the benefit.
	(1) Income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance; pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit.

Universal Credit

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland that are in receipt of tax credits that will have their universal credit payment (i) capped and (ii) reduced below their existing tax credit entitlement as a result of the application of rules on the treatment of capital under the universal credit scheme.

Chris Grayling: A package of transitional protection is being developed in order to ensure that there will be no cash losers as a direct result of the move to universal credit where circumstances remain the same.
	Departmental analysis estimates that in the long run around 100,000 households in Great Britain who would have been in receipt of tax credits may be affected by the capital rules (capital limit and tariff reduction) in universal credit.
	Due to a small sample size it is not possible to provide a robust estimate for Scotland.
	This analysis has been modelled using the Department's Policy Simulation Model (PSM) based on the Family Resources survey (FRS).

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether a claimant will move from universal credit to tax credits if they transfer from an employer making universal credit real time PAYE notifications to one who does not before 2017.

Chris Grayling: It is expected that once a claimant has migrated onto the universal credit system, he/she will remain on universal credit and not return to a legacy benefit/credit.
	An alternative system for gathering earnings data which for those outside of the PAYE is likely to be developed by DWP system, primarily the self employed and could be used in this scenario. It is envisaged that this system will be an on-line self service process. We will move to development during 2012 and will give claimants the appropriate information in due course.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to his Department was of appeals made to the Tribunals Service against work capability assessment decisions in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011 to date.

Chris Grayling: The introduction of employment support allowance (ESA) in October 2008 was accompanied by the new work capability assessment (WCA). The WCA is based on advice delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) assessment contractors, ATOS Healthcare.
	If, following a work capability assessment, someone is found fit for work, they are no longer entitled to claim ESA. However they may appeal against the decision.
	Published information and statistics for ESA claims and work capability assessments are available on the Department's website:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/esa_wca/index.php?page=esa_wca_arc
	Jobcentre Plus, an agency of the Department for Work and Pensions, is responsible for the administration of the work capability assessment appeal process before these are passed to the Tribunal Service.
	The cost to Jobcentre Plus of WCA appeals made to the Tribunals Service for 2009, 2010 and 2011 year to date (YTD) is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 YTD 
			 WCA appeals 6.4 12.1 5.7 
			 Notes: 1. The costs stated in this response only relate to the direct staff costs incurred by Jobcentre Plus. 2. The costs are recorded in financial years which run from April to March the following year. 3. The period 2011-12 YTD relates to WCA appeals from April 2011 to July 2011. Source: Jobcentre Plus Activity Based Management system 
		
	
	Volumes of WCA appeals have increased each year from when ESA was introduced as more customers claim the benefit. This has lead to an increased proportion of WCAs resulting in customers being classified as ‘Fit for Work’, whereby claimants have subsequently appealed against this decision.

Work Capability Assessments

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work capability assessments of claimants previously in receipt of incapacity benefit were completed in each month of 2011 to date.

Chris Grayling: The reassessment of existing incapacity benefits customers using the work capability assessment (WCA) was rolled out nationally from February 2011.
	Letters are being issued as planned to 11,000 claimants per week informing them that their reassessment is about to commence. To manage the process smoothly, volumes were gradually ramped up from the end of February, and the numbers reached 11,000 per week in May. As at the end of September 2011, approximately 128,000 WCAs have been completed for IB reassessment claimants. After the WCA, the decision on entitlement to benefit is taken by a DWP decision maker.
	The Information on the number of WCAs completed above is from the Department's Management Information System. It relates to those assessments where Atos have made a recommendation based on either a face to face assessment or cleared by scrutiny of the customer's medical questionnaire. It does not include those customers whose WCA recommendations were returned to Job-centre Plus because they had not complied with the process.
	A monthly breakdown of the management information is not reliable because the data is captured by week. This means that for those weeks that cross over a month end the data cannot be attributed to any particular calendar month. In addition, as it was never the intention to publish this information, it has not been subject to the same rigorous quality assurance processes that are used for official statistics and as a result they should be used with a degree of caution.
	Due to the overall length of the incapacity benefits reassessment process, information on the entire process including the final outcomes and subsequent destinations of claimants being reassessed is not yet available. Individual level data are being collected, but it will take time to complete because of the overall length of the reassessment process. The Department plans to publish data on the outcomes of the reassessment process but only once it has been quality assured and is considered robust.

CABINET OFFICE

Childbirth: Neonatal Mortality

Nick de Bois: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) live births and (b) stillbirths there were in each region of England in 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated October 2011
	.
	The following table provides the number of live births and stillbirths in each region in England for 2010, the most recent year for which figures are available.
	Information on live births and stillbirths is routinely published on the ONS website. The most recent figures for England and Wales (2010) are available at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/characteristics-of-birth-1--england-and-wales/2010/rft-cb1-2010.xls
	
		
			 Table 1: Live births and stillbirths, regions in England, 2010 
			 Number 
			 Area of usual residence of mother Live births Stillbirths 
			 England 687,007 3,506 
			    
			 Regions   
			 North-east 30,826 143 
			 North-west 89,199 466 
		
	
	
		
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 66,970 373 
			 East midlands 55,232 293 
			 West midlands 72,090 382 
			 East 73,001 345 
			 London 133,111 742 
			 South-east 106,434 507 
			 South-west 60,144 255 
			 Source:  Office for National Statistics

Civil Servants: Pensions

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent progress has been made on the mutualisation of MyCSP; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: The transformation of My Civil Service Pension is currently under way. On 5 July 2011 we created the company and we are currently in the process of identifying a private sector partner for My Civil Service Pension.
	As this process is currently in progress it would be inappropriate for me to make any further comment at this time.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many claimants flowed off jobseeker's allowance in each month from August 2010 to August 2011.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated October 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many claimants flowed off Jobseeker’s Allowance in each month from August 2010 to August 2011. (73591)
	Table 1 following shows the number of claimants who flowed off Jobseekers Allowance, resident in the UK, in each month from August 2010 to August 2011. These figures have been standardised onto a 4 and a 1/3 week basis.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of claimants  (1)   that flowed off jobseeker's allowance—seasonally adjusted 
			  Number 
			 August 2010 324,500 
			 September 2010 322,600 
			 October 2010 325,700 
			 November 2010 329,200 
			 December 2010 333,700 
			   
			 January 2011 341,500 
			 February 2011 328,300 
		
	
	
		
			 March 2011 324,700 
			 April 2011 314,400 
			 May 2011 291,500 
			 June 2011 298,300 
			 July 2011 288,500 
			 August 2011 297,500 
			 (1) These flow figures are collected for 4 or 5 week periods between count dates, the figure above has been standardised to a 4 1/3 week month. Source: Jobcentre Plus Administrative System

Social Media: Civil Servants

Julian Huppert: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what (a) discussions he has had and (b) representations he has received on (i) existing and (ii) future guidance on the use of social media by civil servants and public sector workers.

Francis Maude: The existing guidance on the use of social media by civil servants was published in 2008, and is available online on the civil service website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/participation-online
	I have had no meetings or representations on amending the guidance. The existing guidance for civil servants is under review.

Third Sector

Tim Farron: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he expects to bring forward legislative proposals to set the framework for charitable incorporated organisations.

Nick Hurd: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price) on 10 October 2011, Official Report, column 113W.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he expects to (a) begin and (b) complete his consultation on reforming facility time arrangements for trade union representatives; and when he expects to implement new measures to regulate facility time.

Francis Maude: We are immediately reviewing trade union facility time across the civil service and will publish the results. Once the review is complete we will start consultation with trade unions.

Trade Unions: Civil Service

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will introduce measures to make the use of facility time by trade union representatives more transparent; and if he will require that details must be recorded in respect of all facility time used by trade union representatives in the Civil Service.

Francis Maude: Yes. We will publish the results of the review we are undertaking into trade union facilities time and we will introduce transparency on the use of trade union facilities time going forward.

Young People: Unemployment

Linda Riordan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of people aged 18-24 years are unemployed in Halifax; and what proportion were unemployed in May 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated October 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of people aged 18-24 years are unemployed in Halifax; and what proportion were unemployed in May 2010. (074002)
	Estimates of the proportion of people aged 18 to 24 years unemployed in Halifax parliamentary constituency area are not available. As an alternative we have provided the proportion of people aged 18 to 24 years who were claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) in Halifax. In May 2010, this was 11.2 per cent and in September 2011 was 13.6 percent.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and JSA count are available on the Nomis website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Export Control Policy

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 18 July 2011, Official Report, columns 78-79WS, on export control policy (review), what offensive naval, air and land-based military platforms have been supplied from the UK to (a) Bahrain, (b) Egypt, (c) Libya, (d) Syria, (e) Tunisia and (f) Yemen; and in which years.

Mark Prisk: The earliest we have been able to search our electronic records is 1999 for standard individual export licences (SIELs) and 2001 for open individual export licences (OIELs).
	Our records indicate two standard individual export licences have been issued for the supply of armoured personnel carriers to Libya:
	1. Issued in February 2007 for the supply of up to two armoured personnel carriers.
	2. Issued in September 2008 for the supply of up to ten armoured personnel carriers.
	We cannot verify whether these items were actually exported.
	No licences were identified for Bahrain, Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.
	All applications, including those for export to Libya, are carefully assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria taking into account the prevailing circumstances at the time of application.

Arms Trade

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department expects to charge for each approval process for licensing the export of arms and weapons.

Mark Prisk: The Export Control Organisation within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, has been discussing with exporters the possibility of charging for strategic export licences. These informal discussions will continue. The Government will consult, including on the structure and level of the fees, as and when this becomes a firm Government proposal.

Construction

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the contribution to the economy of exports from the construction industry.

Mark Prisk: The latest data from HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics, the UK Balance of Payments (The Pink Book) and ONS Business Monitor MA4 Foreign Direct Investment show that the UK exported some £7.5billion worth of construction services and products in 2009. This compares with a total of £386.7 billion worth of total UK exports of goods and services in 2009.
	UKTI, in partnership with BIS, has reviewed how it targets its sector based support, to ensure value for money from its resources. This review has mapped UK capabilities against the projected evolution of global demand, across a broad range of sectors. This has indicated that the construction sector had one of the highest growth rates in UK exports in the last three years to 2009 and with projected strong global demand to 2014.

Defence Equipment: Finance

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department contributed towards the cost of supporting the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition at the ExCel Centre between 13 and 16 September 2011.

Mark Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) on 23 June 2011, Official Report, column 445W. Information on costs to UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation (UKTI DSO) of the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition Capability Showcase is not expected to be confirmed for some time. Final costs will take account of the income to be received from UK defence companies which received specific assistance and support from UKTI DSO at the event.

Higher Education

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have sought on the for-profit higher education system in (i) the US and (ii) Europe.

David Willetts: The Government have taken account of a range of publications addressing alternative models of higher education provision. A further key way we gather such information is through meeting regularly with providers of higher education, including for-profit institutions, both in the UK and internationally. A quarterly-updated list of all BIS Ministerial meetings with external organisations is available at:
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/disclosure-ministerial-hospitality-received-department-for-business
	BIS officials will also have had meetings with a range of higher education providers, but a comprehensive record of these is not maintained.

Higher Education

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what dates officials of his Department have had meetings with private higher education providers since May 2010.

David Willetts: BIS officials meet regularly with a wide range of providers of higher education. A comprehensive record of such meetings is not maintained.

Higher Education: Private Sector

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reason Warburg Pincus attended a meeting of for-profit and private higher education providers in (a) December 2010 and (b) January 2011; and if there have been any subsequent meetings between Warburn Pincus and (i) Ministers and (ii) officials of his Department.

David Willetts: I held two meetings with a range of private higher education providers in December 2010 and January 2011 to discuss how more private investment in, and provision of, higher education could be encouraged.
	There have been no subsequent meetings between Warburg Pincus and myself, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), or other BIS Ministers. A quarterly-updated list of all BIS ministerial meetings with external organisations is available at:
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/disclosure-ministerial-hospitality-received-department-for-business
	A comprehensive record of meetings between BIS officials and external organisations is not maintained.

Higher Education: USA

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had discussions with the US Justice Department on its lawsuit concerning for-profit higher education providers;
	(2)  what (a) discussions and (b) meetings (i) he, (ii) ministers and (iii) officials in his Department have had with (A) providers of for-profit higher education who have businesses based in the US, (B) the US Government Accountability Office, (C) the US Department of Education, (D) the US Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, (E) US elected representatives and (F) higher education lecturers and practitioners from the for-profit higher education sector in the US.

David Willetts: It is not the normal practice of the Government to disclose details of their discussions with foreign governments. I am aware of developments in the US for-profit higher education system and the particular concerns raised in the Justice Department's lawsuit. But the comparison is an imperfect one. Funding incentives are different and the UK has a highly regarded system of quality assurance, with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education responsible for upholding standards in UK universities and colleges.
	I meet regularly with a wide range of providers of higher education in the UK and internationally. The Department does not hold comprehensive information on whether higher education providers Ministers have met are classed as for-profit or not-for-profit institutions. Quarterly-updated list of all BIS ministerial meetings with external organisations is available at:
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/disclosure-ministerial-hospitality-received-department-for-business
	BIS officials will also have had conversations with a range of higher education providers. A comprehensive record of such meetings is not maintained.

Post Offices

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage and support community-run post offices.

Edward Davey: There are already many community operated post offices in a range of urban and rural locations, and these community post offices show how a mutual model is already working well at the local level. The Government are currently consulting on proposals that could, in time, see Post Office Ltd converted to a mutual structure. Mutual ownership could give community representatives a direct say in how Post Office Ltd is run.
	The management of Post Office Ltd ensures that strict access criteria, which see over 99% of the national population live within three miles of a post office, are met. It does this by managing contractual relationships between the company and local sub-postmasters across the country, including many who operate community-run post offices.

Post Offices

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many community-run post offices there are in (a) the UK and (b) Kent.

Edward Davey: The information requested is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the managing director of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to my hon. Friend, and for a copy of her reply to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Regional Growth Fund

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to announce the first allocation of funds under the regional growth fund.

Mark Prisk: An announcement on the first round of successful regional growth fund bids was made on 12 April. Bids received in the second round of bidding are being assessed and we aim to make announcements in the autumn.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Audit Commission: Allowances

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 16 February 2011, Official Report, columns 830-1W, on Audit Commission: allowances, if he will publish a breakdown of the hospitality expenses, including venue, individual cost, purpose and attendees, for each of the directors with aggregate hospitality claims referred to in that answer of more than £500.

Grant Shapps: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I will ask the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to my hon. Friend direct.
	Letter from Eugene Sullivan, dated 12 October 2011
	Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
	Two directors had aggregate hospitality claims totalling over £500 in 2009.
	Details of claims by David Walker, Managing Director of Communications and Steve Bundred, Chief Executive have been placed in the Library of the House.

Council Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of people renting council accommodation in each of the last 30 years.

Andrew Stunell: The following table includes the Department's published estimates in terms of numbers of households in local authority housing in England. The estimates are subject to a margin of error being based on sample surveys.
	
		
			 Households in local authority accommodation, England 
			  Households (thousand) 
			 1981 5,100 
			 1984 4,660 
			 1988 4,246 
			 1991 3,872 
			 1992 3,785 
			 1993 3,671 
			 1994 3,560 
			 1995 3,489 
			 1996 3,375 
			 1997 3,263 
			 1998 3,209 
			 1999 3,093 
			 2000 2,904 
			 2001 2,879 
			 2002 2,735 
			 2003 2,542 
		
	
	
		
			 2004 2,469 
			 2005 2,250 
			 2006 2,244 
			 2007 2,211 
			 2008-09 1,887 
			 2009-10 1,745 
			 Sources: 1981 to 1991: Labour Force Survey Housing Trailer 1992 to 2007: Labour Force Survey 2008-09 and 2009-10: English Housing Survey

Empty Property

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of empty homes (a) returned into use to date and (b) to be returned to use by October 2012 as a direct consequence of the provision of £100 million for the purpose under the comprehensive spending review.

Andrew Stunell: We expect the £100 million set aside within the Affordable Homes Programme to bring empty homes back into use to deliver at least 3,300 homes. The money is available from April, and the criteria for bids on this fund will be published shortly.

Empty Property

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the oral answer of 5 September 2011, Official Report, column 11, on empty homes, what mechanisms he plans to use to dramatically accelerate the process of bringing empty homes back into use.

Andrew Stunell: We have accelerated the process of bringing empty homes back into use by providing powerful tools and incentives to support local communities to tackle empty homes. Through the New Homes Bonus, communities will receive a direct financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use. We are also investing £100 million through the Affordable Homes Programme to tackle empty homes directly. I announced on 20 September 2011 that community and voluntary organisations will be able to bid for part of this funding. In due course we will also be consulting on plans to allow councils local discretion to introduce a council tax premium on homes in their area that have been empty for more than two years.

EU Grants and Loans

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department's press notice of 1 August 2011, on European Regional Development Funding, how much funding has been lost in financial corrections and unrecoverable amounts due to irregularities in the 2000 to 2006 programme.

Bob Neill: There has been £101.3 million in financial corrections and unrecoverable amounts arising from irregularities from the European Regional Development Fund 2000-06 programme throughout the period 2000-11.
	The Fund programme has been plagued by a legacy of poor administration and fines that dates back to 2000. The coalition Government have overhauled the management of these schemes, bringing them in-house, and successfully minimising the liabilities.
	The measures that this Government have taken have been recognised by the European Commission.
	Administration of European Regional Development Fund 2000-06 programme had been the responsibility of the Government Offices for the Regions. Following the closure of the Government Offices, management of the Fund programme moved in-house to the Department for Communities and Local Government on 1 April 2011.

EU Grants and Loans

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department's press notice of 1 August 2011, on European Regional Development Funding, what the reasons are for the funding which cannot be recovered due to irregularities in relation to each project in the 2000 to 2006 programme.

Bob Neill: The information requested, consistent with the figures published in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2010-11, has been placed in the Library of the House.
	In compiling the information we have not included those debts which the Department has recorded as a charge on the accounts but in respect of which it may still be continuing to pursue the recovery of amounts recorded. We have also withheld information in a case which is the subject of an EU audit and where disclosure of the information would be incompatible with European Community obligations. The information provided was correct as of 31 March 2011 when the Annual Report and Accounts were drawn up; some of this information may no longer be current with regard to the projects identified.
	The European Regional Development Fund programme has been plagued by a legacy of poor administration and fines that dates back to 2000. The coalition Government has overhauled the management of these schemes, bringing them in-house, and successfully minimising the liabilities.

Homes and Communities Agency: Government Procurement Card

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff of the Housing and Communities Agency and its predecessor were disciplined for misuse or abuse of the Government Procurement Card between 2005-06 and 2009-10.

Andrew Stunell: There were no disciplinary cases identified by the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessors for misuse or abuse of the Government Procurement Card between 2005-06 and 2009-10.

Housing

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what effect the introduction of the New Homes Bonus will have on the level of formula grant for local authorities in the North of England;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the New Homes Bonus on formula grant for Gateshead metropolitan borough council; and if he will take steps to ensure that the formula grant allocated to Gateshead is not reduced as a result of the introduction of the bonus;
	(3)  if he will make it his policy not to reduce Formula Grant to local authorities as a result of the introduction of the New Homes Bonus.

Bob Neill: We have already made clear our policy on the funding of the New Homes Bonus. The full amount of the New Homes Bonus for 2011-12 was met from Department for Communities and Local Government funding. For each of the years 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, £250 million was allocated to the New Homes Bonus from Department for Communities and Local Government funding. Funding beyond these levels will come from Formula Grant.
	Under the provisional 2012-13 Settlement we transferred £176 million from formula grant to fund the New Homes Bonus. Transition grant guarantees that no authority will receive a reduction in its spending power of more than 8.8% in both 2011-2012 and 2012-13.
	The New Homes Bonus will ensure that the economic benefits of housing growth are returned to the local area, so encouraging and rewarding the construction of new homes in the north of England and across the Country.

Housing: Sustainable Development

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on the impact on the average cost of construction of an average home of achieving the equivalent of level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Andrew Stunell: The Code for Sustainable Homes is the voluntary national standard for the design and construction of sustainable new homes. The Department recently published a report updating the estimated cost of implementing the various levels of the code. ‘Cost of Building to the Code for Sustainable Homes—updated cost review’ is available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/codeupdatedcostreview

Landlords

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the merits of introducing statutory landlord accreditation.

Andrew Stunell: Many local authorities already operate voluntary landlord accreditation schemes which we welcome. Such schemes work best when they are tailored to reflect local market conditions which local authorities are best placed to judge. At present, therefore, we have no plans to take away this local discretion by setting up a nationwide scheme.

Local Government: Finance

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to allow local authorities to transfer unspent funding provided by central Government to the subsequent financial year.

Bob Neill: Unless otherwise specified by grant conditions, local authorities can use Government funding across financial years.

Metals: Theft

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has made an estimate of the cost to local authorities of replacing metal items which have been stolen in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Dudley borough in the last year.

Bob Neill: No such estimates have been made. Information on this is not held centrally.

Natural Gas: Safety

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that landlords comply with the legal requirement to arrange for registered Gas Safe engineers to carry out annual gas safety tests in their properties.

Andrew Stunell: Landlords are responsible for the safety of their tenants. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 deals with landlords' duties to make sure gas appliances, fittings and flues provided for tenants are safe.
	The Health and Safety Executive gives gas safety a high priority and will take the appropriate action, often working with the local authority, to ensure compliance with the regulations; this could result in a substantial fine and/or a custodial sentence.
	To help ensure landlords and tenants are aware of their responsibilities on 3 September we published advice for those either letting or renting a property, including a ‘Dos and Don'ts’ factsheet for landlords and ‘Dos and Don'ts’ factsheet for tenants. Both factsheets set out that it is a legal requirement for the landlord to provide a gas safety certificate if there are gas appliances in the property, to arrange an annual gas safety check carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer and to provide the tenant with the certificate within 28 days of each annual check. The fact sheets also provide a link to information on the Health and Safety Executive's frequently asked questions page and details of their Gas Safety Advice Line.

Surveys

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received on the ending of the Citizenship Survey and The Place Survey; and what analysis his Department undertook on the effects of ending these surveys.

Andrew Stunell: holding answer 11 October 2011
	I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 12 May 2011, Official Report, column 1321W, on the Citizenship Survey.
	As outlined in my Department's press notice of 10 August 2010, a copy of which is in the Library, the abolition of the Place Survey will save £5 million of taxpayers' money and is part of the coalition Government's reduction of centrally-imposed burdens on local authorities. My Department corresponded with the Local Government Association who supported the decision to cancel the survey, and with the UK Statistics Authority who had no objection.

Temporary Employment: Contracts

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department issues guidance to local authorities on the contracting of agency staff; and if he will place in the Library a copy of any such guidance.

Bob Neill: None. The Local Government Employers leads on providing guidance on a wide range of pay and workforce matters for local authorities, including guidance on the new Agency Workers Regulations which came into force on 1 October 2011. This information can be accessed by the link:
	http://www.lge.gov.uk/lge/core/page.do?pageId=8780369

Travellers: Planning Permission

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of Gypsy and Traveller caravans located on sites granted retrospective planning permission in (a) each local authority area and (b) England (i) in each of the last five years and (ii) since May 2010.

Andrew Stunell: The Government do not collect this information.

Waste Disposal: Domestic Waste

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what formula has been agreed for the distribution of the additional funding for local authorities to obtain or sustain weekly refuse collection services; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: No formula is needed for the distribution of funding under the new Weekly Collection Support scheme. It is intended that the scheme will operate as a challenge fund, with the amount of money being available to each local authority depending on the content and quality of their bid. As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 10 October 2011, Official Report, column 1WS, up to £250 million will be available in total under this fund and further details of the scheme will be made available in due course.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Frank Field: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has reviewed for trial in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and in how many of those cases the CPS concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to proceed to court.

Dominic Grieve: Between September 2010 and August 2011, the CPS reviewed, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, a total of 930,457 cases; 46,544 of those cases did not progress because there was not sufficient evidence to proceed to court. The CPS does not hold reliable data which distinguishes the stage of review.